King of the Hill
by Super Ceech
Summary: When Kagome, Sango and Ayame went to spend two weeks at a hot ski resort, they never expected to meet and hang out with arrogant professional ski racers, Inuyasha and Kouga, and their perverted friend, Miroku. Let the chaos begin! Pairings: IK, MS, KA
1. The Trip

"Kagome!"

A pretty raven-haired girl spun around at the sound of her name to see her two best friends running up to her.

Sango, with her long black hair done up in a high ponytail and her soft brown eyes shining with anticipation, spoke first. "Are you excited, Kagome?! I can't wait!"

Kagome's chocolate brown eyes danced with excitement. "Oooh, me neither, Sango! Two weeks with you guys up at Devil's Mountain Ski Resort for my birthday; what more could I ask for?"

"Especially since we're all in one condo together, no adults present!" squealed Kagome's other friend, Ayame. Her flaming red hair bounced as she jumped up and down excitedly in the middle of the classroom they were currently occupying, and her bright green eyes twinkled.

"It's tomorrow!" Sango reminded them, as if they didn't already know. "Tomorrow and we get to miss this upcoming week of school and then spend the March break up there. This is the best present you could ever get for your birthday, Kagome, and I'm sooo glad we get to go too!"

"I know, me too!" Ayame sighed. "I'm already packed."

Kagome laughed at her friends, fully sharing in their delight. "I think we'll be taking the van so we can fit all of our stuff, 'kay, guys?"

"Sure," Ayame responded. "And we can take turns driving all the way up. Remember, I have my G2 now."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Yes, we know, you've only reminded us about a hundred times since you go it a week ago!" she said in exasperation.

"Just making sure you don't forget," Ayame said defensively.

"I think it's ingrained into my brain," Sango muttered, rubbing her temples.

"So when do you think we should hit the road?" Kagome asked, breaking into their little dispute. "Seven am?"

Sango and Ayame looked at her in disbelief. "Ugh, Kagome!" Sango protested. "I'm ridiculously excited about this trip, sure, but not that ridiculously excited."

Ayame nodded her head fervently in agreement. "I'd say about... noon. Sango?"

"Sounds good to me. I really need to sleep in after all of this stress school has been placing on me."

Kagome stared at her friends. "Noon? It takes like five hours to get there. There'll be no time to test the slopes out!"

"Oh, calm down, Kagome," Sango brushed her off. "We weren't planning on skiing the first day anyway. I mean, what are the whole next two weeks for?" Reminding herself of this, she sighed in bliss.

"Fine," Kagome conceded. "But you two better both be ready at noon on the dot, 'cause you don't know whose house I'll come to first and I don't feel like waiting around."

Sango and Ayame nodded happily then scampered back to their assigned seats as the bell rang to signify their first class of the day had begun.


	2. Road Madness

A/N Hello, everyone! I'm new at this fanfic creating/updating thing so I didn't get to put in the author's note or disclaimer that I wanted to in the first chapter. I don't own Inuyasha in case you had some inane idea that I did and I just wanted to inform the viewers that this fanfic takes place in Canada (where I live!) so there's not going to be any Japanese customs or language in it. And all of the characters are completely human in this fic so no craziness will be appearing out of the middle of nowhere.

Also, I don't know if it's different or not in the States, but there's three parts to completing and getting your driver's licence here: the G1 where you can drive but you have to have a parent or someone with four years of driving experience with you in the car, the G2 where you can drive on your own but you have limits on the alcohol level in your blood and other stuff like that, and finally your G which is your full licence. You can only try to pass the exam for your G2 after about 9 months after you get your G1 (which you can do on your 16thbirthday if you want) with driver's ed, so Ayame and the others are all sixteen, with their G2s, and all have their seventeenth birthdays coming up soon or in the next few months (Kagome's during the trip/vacation thingy). Hope that's understandable!^_^

The last thing I wanted to mention was that I'm a diehard InuKag and MirSan pairing fan. They're just so right for each other and they're the pairings displayed in the show so, I mean, c'mon...

Alright, I'm incredibly sorry for making this A/N so long. *gets down on knees and starts grovelling* Please don't eat me! Here's the second chapter as a peace offering!  
  


"All done!" Kagome sighed, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead and looking down at her bulging suitcase and ski bag. She checked her wallet to see that the vast amount of money her parents gave her to use on her trip was in it and then stuffed it in her purse along with her lip chap and some Kleenex.

With that, she took up her bags and dashed downstairs. "You ready to go?" her mother called, coming out from the kitchen. "You've got everything?"

Kagome nodded. "Yup, I'm heading out." She hugged her mother as her grandfather and her brother came out from the adjoining room to see her off.

"Don't see why I don't get to go," Souta, her brother, grumbled.

"This is a trip for Kagome and her friends, Souta," Kagome's mother chided lightly. "They don't want younger brothers hanging off them. I promise you'll be able to have Kohaku over a few times while they're gone."

Souta's disposition noticeably brightened at this and he turned to Kagome. "See ya when you get back, Kagome! Hope you have fun!" he said as he started clambering up the stairs.

"Bye squirt!" Kagome called after him as he disappeared. She then turned to her mother and grandfather with a smile. "Thank you so much for this; I appreciate this more than I can say."

Kagome's mother smiled at her. "It's alright, Kagome. We know you've wanted to go to Devil's Mountain for a long time and now all I can hope for is that you have a great time while you're there."

"And stay out of trouble, I know what you youngins are like," Kagome's grandfather grumbled.

"And drive safe and dress warmly-" Kagome cut her mother off before she could start into her long list of precautionary measures.

"Yes, mom. Now, I love you both, but I gotta go now to pick up Sango and Ayame. I'll see you in two weeks; Devil's Mountain, here I come!" Kagome said as she picked up her bags, her skiis and her poles to head out the door.

Her mother gave her a quick peck on the cheek and gave her one more suggestion, which was more like an order. "Don't forget to call every now and then, Kagome," her mother warned. "I'll want to know how your trip is going, and how your birthday is."

"With this present, mom, it'll be the best one yet! Bye!" Kagome called as she went out the door to load the van with all of her luggage and equipment. "Now it's time to pick up the crybabies," Kagome muttered to herself as she inserted the key into the ignition and backed out of her driveway.

Kagome decided to pick up Ayame first, who was practically bouncing off the walls when she got there. "Oooh, I"m excited, I"m excited, I"m excited, I"m excited!" she chanted as she stuffed her bags, skiis and poles into the van before hopping into the front seat. "Are you excited?"

Kagome figured since Ayame was going nuts, she would have to be the one to keep a level head. "Oh my god, yes!" she almost screamed. "I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait!"

Ayame giggled and Kagome grinned. "Let's go get Sango and then let's start this road trip!" Ayame suggested.

When they arrived at Sango's house, they found her sitting on the front steps waiting for them. At least she took my warning to heart, thought Kagome.

"What took you guys so long? It's twelve fifteen. I thought you didn't want to waste any time getting, there, Kagome," Sango said with an innocent look.

"Yeah, yeah," Kagome waved her off. "I had to pick Ayame up first."

"But, Kagome-" Sango started but was cut off by Kagome glaring at her. "I'll shut up now."

"Wise decision," Kagome nodded in approval.

"Come on, guys!" Ayame butt in. "Let's go!"

~*~

Kagome rubbed her temple wearily with one hand as the other controlled the steering wheel and tried to block out the voices of her two friends. It was four hours into the trip, and she loved her friends to death, but god could they be annoying!

"The wheels on the car go round and round, round and round, round and round..." sang Ayame, who didn't know any more lyrics and thus kept repeating those lines over and over. Meanwhile...

"Are we there yet?" interjected Sango for what seemed to Kagome like the millionth time.

"No, Sango, one more hour still," Kagome said, exasperated.

"Oh, still?"

Kagome muttered incoherently under her breath for a few moments, noting that Ayame wasn't getting any less irritating.

"The wheels on the car go round and round..." she suddenly trailed off, giving Kagome a brief feeling of relief. "Um, what's the next line, guys?"

"Round and round," Kagome gritted out between clenched teeth.

"Oh, right!" Ayame said happily and continued the never ending, ever-repeating song.

"You really shouldn't have told her that," Sango told Kagome helpfully.

"Yes, I know," Kagome said while silently berating herself. "I starting to question my sanity now."

A few moments passed with only Ayame singing in the background before...

"I'm hungry," Sango whined. "When are we going to get there? I have to go to the bathroom."

"That's it!" Kagome practically screeched, effectively silencing the whole car. "I can't take it anymore!" She swerved into a nearby stopping station containing a complex of fast-food restaurants and a gas station. "We're eating dinner, going to the bathroom and filling the car up with gas here, and then you're driving the rest of the way!" she said, pointing an accusing finger at Sango.

"But, Kagome-" Sango started to protest.

"No buts!" Kagome said, pulling into a parking space and jumping out of the van.

The three girls headed into the complex and ordered at Wendy's. Sitting down with their meals, Sango and Kagome held a light-hearted conversation about the upcoming vacation together since Ayame seemed deep in thought. When they all finished, they all went to the bathroom and headed out to the van, completely refreshed. They filled it up with gas and were set to travel the final stretch.

Sango hopped in the driver's seat and Kagome took over the passenger seat, leaving Ayame in the back.

Almost immediately after they had started driving again, Ayame leaned forward and asked, "Okay, guys, what do you think of this?"

"Of what?" Kagome and Sango asked simultaneously.

"The windshield wipers on the car go swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish..." Ayame had obviously spent the time in the restaurant thinking up new lyrics.

"Ayame! Shut up!" Sango burst out. 

Kagome, however, now that she was no longer the driver, didn't feel as frustrated with Ayame as she did before, and even felt slight amusement at Sango's reaction. Turning slightly, she caught a glimpse of an evil glint in Ayame's eyes and realization hit her. She knew exactly how annoying she was being and she was enjoying it profusely!

Kagome sighed. Her friends would never grow up. But, then again, neither would she, she reminded herself as she joined in with Ayame's evil singing and watched as Sango's eye began twitching, an indication that she was nearing the breaking point.

~*~

"Finally!" Kagome sighed in happiness as she dropped her bags in the living room of the condo they had reserved. She looked around herself and nodded with approval at the size and accommodation the condo offered. Grabbing her suitcase, Kagome dashed up a few stairs and found the largest bedroom she could. "I call this one, you guys!" she called down to the others as she threw her bag carelessly on the bed.

"Aw, no fair," Sango whined when she and Ayame came up to see. "After putting up with you two singing horribly out of tune for an hour, I think I deserve this room."

Kagome shook her head. "Oh, no. I had to put up with you two being just as annoying, if not more, for four hours, and besides, I have a lovely singing voice."

Sango snorted and walked out with Ayame so that they could find their own rooms. Kagome heard a slight scuffle signifying there was most likely a disagreement about the final sleeping arrangements, but shrugged it off as she prepared for bed. Plopping down on her surprisingly comfy bed, she dropped into a dreamless sleep.

  
  


A/N Whoo, done. That was a fun chapter, eh? It was fun writing it anyway. Review, and tell me what you think. I'm definitely not a Review Nazi, but I'd like to know if people are liking it or not. It hasn't really gotten into the main action yet, but I can't very well just jump right into it. It's got to be built up first. Inuyasha'll have a brief cameo in the next chapter so stay tuned! Thanks to the reviewers who reviewed so far. Your reviews made me all warm and fuzzy inside and they made my day. I'll try to get each chapter out as soon as I can, but I am working around a busy schedule and hopefully the chapters will start getting longer. No promises, but I live to serve the readers (well, I do kinda have another purpose to life, but you don't want to hear about that...) So I'll do the best I can. 'Till next time!


	3. Hitting the Slopes

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but wouldn't it be weird if I did? Here I'd be, the owner of this world famous anime, writing fanfiction for it. Can you be that much of a fan of your own work? It's something to think about.

A/N All I would like to say is thank you for all the nice reviews! You guys are so nice and it makes me so happy that I want to get the next chapter out for you as soon as possible. Thanks especially to KagomeHigurashi66 for reviewing both chapters! And I completely agree with you about the spelling thing. If it takes longer to decipher a word than it does to read a normal length sentence, there's a problem. I watch the screen as I type so I can usually catch myself. But enough about that! On with the next chapter!

  
  


"Kagome, wake up," Kagome distantly heard. A slight pressure was applied to her shoulder and began to lightly shake her. Kagome grumbled and turn her back to it, snuggling down into the warmth of her bed.

"Kagome, wake up or I'll have to resort to extreme measures," came a warning tone that Kagome sleepily comprehended was Sango's. 

Wait a minute... What was Sango doing waking her up? Flashes of loading up the van, Ayame and Sango annoying her in the car and them arriving at the condo went through her head and she remembered. The ski trip!

Kagome, now fully awake, shot up to a sitting position, accidentally colliding foreheads with Sango who had just been leaning over her.

"Ow, jeez, Kagome, what was that for!?" Sango cried, clutching her forehead.

"Oh, sorry," Kagome apologized, rubbing her own head. "But the ski trip-!"

"Yes, the ski trip," Sango cut in. "What else do you think we're doing here? Besides, I thought you wanted to get out as soon as possible. It's already eight-thirty, the hill opens at nine, and you're not even out of bed yet. Some fanatic you are."

"Ack! Eight-thirty! Must...get...ready!" Kagome said, scrambling out of bed and trying to untangle herself from her sheets. 

As soon as she was free, she dashed into the bathroom adjoining her bedroom to take a shower. When she came out, she put her hair into a low ponytail and dressed in some sweat pants and a dark green turtleneck, not forgetting to wear some long underwear underneath. 

She ran downstairs to the kitchen where Ayame and Sango were preparing some breakfast out of some of the cereal they had brought along. Kagome sat down with them and dug into a bowl of Corn Pops. Finishing in record time, she sped over to the sink to wash her bowl as Sango and Ayame were left at the table, still only halfway done their breakfast, staring after her.

"Come on, guys, hurry up!" Kagome hurriedly told them once she had finished washing her dishes. "There's no time to lose!"

Sango and Ayame had just finished eating at this time and so they shrugged, got up, and went to wash their own bowls, Kagome hovering over them like a mother hen the whole time.

"Eek! It's nine!" Kagome squealed, looking over at the microwave clock. "Let's go!"

"Good thing we're in skiing distance of the lodge," Sango muttered to Ayame. "Otherwise, I don't think she'd make it." Ayame nodded solemnly in agreement and then they both burst out giggling.

Finally, Kagome's frantic efforts were enough to persuade her friends to move a little more quickly and soon they had put on their ski boots and all their other ski gear, and they were ready to go. They walked down out of their condo, not forgetting to lock it, and stood on a slope facing the lodge. They layed their skis down and stepped into them. Skiing down the incline and past the lodge, they got in line for a chairlift that the management had just gotten up and running. 

As they took their seats and began ascending the mountain, they were able to see how large and glamorous the ski resort really was. The peaks of the mountain rose up and reached out for the sky above and intricate ski runs ran in between them and across their surface. There were more runs then Kagome could count and this, she reminded herself, was only one side of the mountain.

"Wow," Ayame breathed in awe. "I knew it was huge, but I didn't know it was this huge."

"Tell me about it," Sango agreed.

Finally the ridiculously long chairlift ride was over, even though it only succeeded in bringing them halfway up the mountain.

"Next time, let's take the gondola* up to the very top of the mountain," Sango suggested. The others nodded in agreement and began looking around for a run to try.

"Let's try this one," Kagome suggested. "It's a blue square, which usually means intermediate."

"Might as well," Ayame shrugged.

"I'll go first," Kagome offered so that they wouldn't all collide with one another. There was probably a slim chance of that happening anyway since the hill was so wide, but Kagome had picked up the precautionary measure while skiing at smaller hills.

She pushed off and felt the familiar exhilaration she received whenever she flew down a ski hill and the wind kissed her cheeks. She may not have been the utmost best skier in the world, but she'd participated in the sport for a long time and she thought she was pretty decent.

Ayame came down next, a bit more hesitant than Kagome, being a little daunted by the large hill. But her skiing level was just as good as Kagome's and the experience was just as exciting. She soon lost her apprehension and started relaxing into her skiing.

Sango watched her friends go down with a smile, then pushed herself off aggressively. She wasn't any better than the other two, but she tended being a bit more reckless, which either made her quicker than them or made her falls more frequent, depending on the hill and how her day was going.

When the three girls reached the bottom, they rode the gondola all the way up to the top of the mountain and then looked around for a new hill to try. They skied down many different hills for the next couple hours and it was nearing lunch time as they decided to take one last run all the way down the mountain.

They were sharing a chairlift with one other older man when Kagome pointed something out that had been on her mind all morning. "There seems to be an awful lot of really good skiers here. I mean, I expect good skiers to come to a place like this, but the amount of really talented people seems to almost outrank the amount of amateurs."

"That's true, Kagome," Sango responded. "I've noticed the same thing."

At this point, the man sitting beside them spoke up. "That's because they're all racers. There's a competition being held next week that's giving racers an opportunity to earn FIS points."

"FIS?" Kagome inquired.

"Yes," the man replied. "It stands for Fédération International du Ski. Racers who want to someday enter the Olympics or join the National Ski Team first race at these competitions. If they win or do well, they earn FIS points which are very telling about a racer's speed and skill. The more FIS points you earn, the higher level competitions you can enter and when you reach a certain skill or level, you will be recognized by the government and hopefully be given a chance to show the world what you can do. It takes a while to move up in the ranks though, and you must train almost non-stop."

"Wow," Kagome blinked and looked back at the skiers racing down the hill with awe. "How high is this level of competition?"

"Fairly high," the man responded. "The weaker skiers have all been weeded out in the lower levels so this competition should be very exciting to watch."

"That's so cool," Ayame said. "And we'll get to see it too! We're still here next week when it's being held!"

"How do you know so much about it, sir?" Sango asked respectfully.

The man chuckled. "Well, I'm a trainer to one of the racers, you see. I swear he's the fastest seventeen year old alive and I really believe he has a good chance at winning this race. My name's Myouga, by the way, and-oh! Speak of the devil, there's my trainee at the top of the hill." Myouga said.

"Where?" the three girls asked all at once.

"Up there at the top, with the red jacket and black pants. You really can't miss him; he's got silver hair," Myouga added helpfully.

All of a sudden, a flash momentarily blinded Kagome and she realized it was the sun reflecting off a boy's hair that was, in fact, silver. It went down the length of the boy's back and was tied in a low ponytail. The boy himself was wearing a red jacket with patches of black and white spread over it in a fashionable and trendy style and his black snow pants had silver streaks up the side of them. He was wearing a black toque and his goggles were covering his eyes and obscuring the features of his face.

"His name's Inuyasha," Myouga offered. "And he's been hopping up the levels of competition and winning all over the place ever since I started training with him. He is truly gifted, but I hope his talent will stay with him during this competition and he doesn't let his ego get the better of him. This level of competition only holds the best and he's going to need to be able to recognize that to be able to pull through and win. Not that I'm doubting him or anything," Myouga added. "I haven't ever seen him do anything but win."

"His hair's dyed, right?" Ayame inquired.

"Actually, no," Myouga replied. "That's his natural hair colour and his eyes are natural too."

"His eyes?" asked Sango.

"Yes, they're actually gold," Myouga answered.

Kagome half-listened as she watched Inuyasha practically dive off the top of the hill with an incredibly strong push and start speeding down towards them like a streak of lightening. His movements were so fluid, Kagome was inclined to think he was made of liquid. "Amazing," Kagome murmured.

"Inuyasha!" Myouga suddenly called down in an annoyed tone, making the girls beside him jump in surprise.

The speeding figure below them automatically swung his skis to the side and stopped short, flinging up snow.

"What do you want now, Myouga?" the boy called up in an equally irritated tone.

Kagome's opinion of him immediately dropped a fraction.

"Inuyasha, can't you even wait for me?!" Myouga called. "How are you supposed to train without your trainer?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Well then, hurry up, old man!" he shouted back.

Kagome's opinion of him once again took a bit of a nose dive. Didn't this guy have any respect? 

Passing over him in the chair, Kagome noted that his skiis and poles were varying shades of red, evidently to match his jacket. I wonder what his favourite colour is? Kagome thought dryly.

Finally, the interminably long chairlift ride was over and the four passengers disembarked.

"Well, I hope to see you girls later," Myouga said as they turned to go their separate ways. "I have to go catch up with my impossibly fast and egotistical racer now, so good luck with the rest of your skiing and I'll see you around!" With that, he raced off in the direction of the hill where Inuyasha was impatiently awaiting him.

"Well, that was interesting," Kagome said as she and her friends moved off to find another hill. "I mean, amazing skier, but I wasn't too impressed with his attitude."

"I gotta agree with you there," Sango responded. "Now let's go eat lunch!"

Ayame cheered and started down first. When they all reached the lodge, they layed their skiis and poles against the designated rack and scrambled inside. 

Once the warmth from the fire burning inside reached them, they sighed in relief and then found a table at which they could sit. Leaving their gear with Ayame, Kagome and Sango got into the lunch line to order. Coming back to the table with three orders of poutine, they sat down with Ayame and began chatting about the hill, their morning of skiing, the arrogant boy they'd seen briefly, the competition he would supposedly be entering, and just about anything else that crossed their minds.

Finishing their meal, the three girls headed back out to the slopes for the afternoon. They tested out their skiing abilities and limits by going on a range of hill difficulties, but were careful to steer clear of moguls and glades** since they weren't sure their skills were that advanced. They goofed around together, racing each other, pelting one another with snow every now and then and generally having a good time.

When they arrived back at their condo around four-thirty, they were exhausted, but extremely happy. They were worn out from the day, so after each taking long relaxing baths, Kagome, Sango and Ayame had some quick microwave dinners they had brought with them and then plopped down on the living room couch to see what was on TV. Since they were at a ski resort, many of the channels were ones who offered commentaries on the sport and the first channel Sango flicked to was coincidentally mentioning the upcoming ski racing competition there at the Devil's Mountain Ski Resort.

They tuned in for a while, not learning much more than what Myouga had already informed them of, but listening more closely when they started discussing the top racers and who was most likely to win. Apparently, the boy named Inuyasha was tied with another guy named Naraku for the most amount of FIS points in this level, but another competitor, Kouga was in a very close second. Inuyasha would have to work his hardest to pull ahead of Naraku, who was two years older than him, and watch out for Kouga, who was his own age, coming up behind him to grab first. It was going to be close.

In the female division, a girl named Kikyo was leading in FIS points and two other girls, Kagura and Kanna were vying for the second and third spots.

After a while, the girls tired of watching the commentary and they switched to a channel that was about to play the movie Good Will Hunting. Being one of their favourites ("Matt Damon!" Ayame squealed.), they decided to watch it before heading to bed early due to their complete lack of energy and ability to stay awake any longer.

  
  


*the gondola I'm talking about here is like a little cabin attached to a strong cable that takes you up the hill, not the boat thingy!

**glades are ski runs that run through paths in the trees

  
  


A/N Alright! That one was really long (to type anyway) so I hoped you enjoyed it. I've got a few things to mention here and then I'll be out of your way. 

One, this ski hill is completely made up, so I don't think you'll be able to find it anywhere. If you are able to, then there's obviously something I've missed. ^_^ I made it by pretty much blending Blue Mountain and Mont Tremblant together (they are real).

Two, yes, chairlift rides are ridiculously long, especially if you have to go up a mountainside or even half of it.

Three, poutine is the ultimate ski food and to me it's basically mandatory to have it whenever you go skiing. Mmmm, fries, melted cheese and gravy... 

Four, Kikyo and Inuyasha in this story have had no previous romantic goings on and will not proceed to have them. Kikyo's just the lead female racer, an acquaintance and maybe a friend (she's not evil in this either). 

Five, FIS is real, though I don't compete in it. I'm not nearly good enough for that so I just race with my ski hill team. In fact, I'm going to a race tomorrow (Sunday) which is probably the day that this'll be posted on. I originally got the inspiration for this story while I was at a ski camp preparing for the racing season so hopefully more good ideas will come to me while I'm there (although I've already got many, many fun ideas...hehehe). 

Six, thanks again for the nice reviews and I hope to hear what you think of this chapter! 

Seven, I bet everyone's thinking about how long-winded I am and how you wish I'd just shut up and end this A/N. So I think I'll do just that and stop pestering you now. Talk to ya next chapter!


	4. Rotten Meat

Disclaimer: Nope, no owner here... You might want to try the other side of the world.

A/N Hello, everybody. Here I am back with another chapter when I really need to be working on that English oral presentation later on this week or studying for the three tests I have coming up. But this is more important, right? Ooooh! I did get more ideas at my race, by the way. Evil, fun, hilarious ideas that you will see in the chapters to come. Anyway, I don't have much else to say, except thanks again for all the incredibly nice reviews and prepare yourself for a little more action in this chapter and the grand entrance of who I'm sure you've all been waiting for (you know who they are) in the next chapter. On with the fic!

  
  


"Sango-o-o-o-o!!!" Kagome wailed as her friend pushed her down the black diamond hill and she hit all the imperfections of the slope on the way. "You'll pay for this!" she yelled over her shoulder as she flew straight down the hill with her legs and arms stuck out to the side, making her resemble a star.

It was the next day of their vacation and they had come out once again as soon as the hill opened. They had ridden the gondola up to the top of the mountain and Kagome had suggested that they start off their day with a nice easy run they could warm up on. Thinking thoughtfully of this, Sango had promptly pushed Kagome down a hill labelled with the second highest rating of difficulty and which also happened to run the entire length of the mountainside. Kagome was not liking the situation.

Stumbling and falling a few times, Kagome finally managed to complete the run and reach the bottom of the mountain where she found her two "friends" waiting patiently for her by a nearby chairlift.

Fuming, she skied up to them, but before she could say anything, Ayame spoke up. "Gee, Kagome, where were you?" she asked in mock innocence and confusion. "We were thinking that we might've been able to get another run in before you got here." Sango nodded in agreement.

Kagome glared at them for all she was worth. When she noticed them shift slightly in their skis and steal a nervous glance at one another, she let a sadistic smile slowly spread over her face. "Oh, just you wait, you two," she warned menacingly. "I'll get you back even worse and when you least expect it." She let out a dark chuckle and her two "friends" laughed nervously.

"But for now," Kagome continued on in a ridiculously cheerful voice that did nothing to relief Sango and Ayame's apprehension. "Let's continue skiing, shall we?"

After the next couple runs in which Kagome didn't try anything, Sango and Ayame relaxed somewhat but knew Kagome would never forget so easily. They figured they were safe for now since Kagome said it would happen when they didn't expect it. That didn't bode well for the future, but at the present, they assumed they were not at risk.

Eventually they found themselves facing the lowest level of difficulty hill, a green circle, which was littered with beginners and little kids.

"Is there any way to make this run exciting?" Sango asked.

"I know!" Ayame said, answering Sango's rhetorical question. "Snow plow race!"

"Cool," Kagome said, ready to get some sillyness out of her system. "What are the rules?"

"Um..." Ayame trailed off as she looked to Sango.

Sango immediately lowered her voice and spoke in an official's tone. "Alright, listen up! These are the rules. The snow plow must be a complete V; no cheating and skiing properly! All racers must avoid skidestrians instead of trying to go right through them-"

"Skidestrians?" Kagome asked.

Sango shrugged. "What else am supposed to call skiing pedestrians?" she asked in her normal tone before switching back to her official's. "Poles must be at all times held from between your knees and stuck up straight behind you-"

"Why?" asked Ayame.

"Proper form," Sango informed them.

Kagome gave her an odd look. "You've got some weird rules."

"All participants start at the same line when I say go and the first one to pass the last tree at the bottom, wins!" Sango finished.

"Alright!" cheered Ayame as the three of them lined up at the top of the hill.

"Everybody ready?" Sango questioned. At Kagome and Ayame's affirmative nods, she said, "On your marks, get set, go!"

The three of them pushed off and inched forwards, careful to keep their skis in perfect Vs. Dodging a "skidestrian", as Sango liked to call them, Kagome pulled behind the other two but soon caught back up as they were forced into the same situation. Ayame pulled ahead of her friends at a snail's pace but her first place was soon usurped by Sango and then Kagome. They frequently changed place positions but were all fairly equal. 

They all started to feel the back of their legs burning after a while, but ignored it in order to concentrate on the final stretch of the race. As they neared the last tree, Ayame managed to sneak in front with Kagome just behind her. The final score: Ayame, first; Kagome, second; and Sango third.

"No fair!" Sango moaned. "My legs hurt too much on that final part!"

"If you can't take the intense competition and amazing skill needed to partake in this death defying sport," Kagome said with a wicked smile. "You'd better stay out of the way of the pros."

"Urgh!" Sango grumbled in frustration as Kagome and Ayame high-fived. "I can't race on an empty stomach anyway. Let's go eat." she begged.

Her friends giggled but complied, skiing over to the nearby lodge. In the lunch line, Kagome decided on a different meal that day and ordered a cheeseburger. Sango and Ayame gasped as if she had just broken some sacred rule, but she did her best to ignore them as she took her burger back to their table.

"I can't believe she just did that," Sango whispered to Ayame, but loud enough so that Kagome could hear.

"I know, I mean, is it something the poutine did?" Ayame asked in consternation.

"Never!" Sango wailed. Then, taking her fork and digging in to her poutine, she cooed, "It's okay, I still love you, I'll still eat you."

"You don't hear that everyday," Kagome said dryly. Her friends shot her dirty looks and she gulped and went back to eating her cheeseburger. "I'll make it up to the poutine, I swear!"

Sango and Ayame shook their heads in disgrace. "I don't know if we even want to be seen with her anymore," Sango said to Ayame, who nodded.

After the three girls finished eating their sacred poutine and their blasphemous cheeseburger, they dumped their garbage into the trash can and left the lodge to retrieve their skis. They took their first run a little slowly since their stomachs were fairly full from their lunches, but they were ready to take the second run full force.

Kagome pushed off down the hill first, with Sango and Ayame following behind her. She was halfway down the hill before a wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her. She stumbled a bit before she was able to stop and she immediately put her head between her knees as effectively as she could in her ski outfit. Sango and Ayame immediately stopped alongside her with concern written all over their faces.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Ayame asked in a worried tone.

"I... feel... sick," Kagome managed to get out between deep breaths.

"Okay, just relax," Sango instructed her friend. "Ayame and I will hold you from either side and we'll take you back to the condo, alright?"

Kagome weakly nodded and allowed them to grasp her and take her poles away from her. Slowly the trio skied down the run which luckily connected with another that led straight to their condo. It was a horrible experience for Kagome, whose head was pounding and stomach was churning the whole way there.

Once they reached their destination and got out of their skis, Sango and Ayame half-carried Kagome up the inside stairs to their reserved condo. Once inside, Kagome immediately yanked herself out of her friends' grip and into the bathroom. When they heard retching noises ensue, Sango dashed off to her bag to retrieve some medicine while Ayame entered the bathroom and stood, rubbing Kagome's back.

After a few minutes, Kagome backed away from the toilet, but Ayame shook her head at the pills Sango offered the sick girl. "Hold off a minute, Sango." She turned to Kagome. "Did you feel sick this morning, Kagome, and not tell us?"

Kagome shook her head no. "I was fine," she panted. "Right up to the point where you guys saw me stop on the hill. All of a sudden I felt so dizzy and sick. Ugh..." Kagome trailed off as she turned back to the toilet to continue throwing up.

"I thought as much," Ayame said when Kagome finished.

"What's wrong with her?" Sango asked.

"I think she just has a little bit of food poisoning," Ayame responded. "My dad got it once when we were on a ski trip. Once Kagome gets it out of her system, she should be fine."

"Probably that burger," Sango said knowingly. "See where that got you, Kagome? You most likely angered the poutine gods."

"Stuff it, Sango," Kagome said weakly before her stomach decided it was a good time to try to remove the offensive food once again.

The rest of the afternoon was spent by Kagome sporadically flushing her system of the bad meat and Sango and Ayame comforting her with the knowledge that it was temporary. When Kagome finally seemed to have ridded herself of the contents of her stomach, she settled down on the couch and took a nap.

Upon her waking, Kagome was immediately bombarded with questions from her friends on her state of health and whether or not she was feeling okay. She nodded to their inquiries and sat up. Other than a slight wave of dizziness, Kagome found that she felt perfectly fine.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily.

"About ten to seven o'clock pm," Ayame chirped.

"We've stayed with you all afternoon and evening," Sango added. "With nothing to entertain us but ski commentaries. Are we good friends or what?"

Kagome considered something for a moment before deciding to mention it. "Do you guys want to go night skiing then?"

Ayame looked at her worriedly. "Are you sure you're up to it?" she asked. "I mean, you just got over this food poisoning, are you sure you should ski right away?"

"I'm fine," Kagome assured her. "I threw it all up already so there's nothing to worry about. It's like it never happened."

"If you're sure..." Ayame conceded slowly.

"Well, if Kagome's up to it, I sure am!" Sango said. "We missed the whole afternoon of skiing so this will at least make up for some of it."

They made their way back outside bundled up and carrying their equipment while Kagome attempted to shrug off the bout of dizziness that was threatening to overtake her. Sango and Ayame didn't seem to notice her troubles, something for which she was grateful since she didn't feel like being babied anymore or shoved back inside.

Once they were all ready to go, they skied down to the awaiting chairlift and rode it up to as far as it would reach. Getting off, they slid down to where there was a choice between two hills; one that was open for night skiing and one that was closed due to grooming.

"Alright!" Sango said excitedly. "Let's do this thing!"

She pushed off first with Ayame soon following. Kagome was about to follow when all of a sudden, the bout of dizziness that she had been pushing down consumed and disoriented her. She couldn't tell what was going on around her as the world became a blur. She vaguely realized she was sliding backwards, but her brain didn't register the implications of it even as she passed the warning sign of hill grooming. The dizziness was finally too much and she blacked out, collapsing and sliding down the hill.

  
  


A/N Eek! Sorry to leave it there, guys, but the next chapter should be really good, so don't kill me. By the way, groomers are these big machine-thingys that the hill management people drive up and down the hills at night to flatten out all the turned up snow from the skiers during the day. I think some people have died by accidentally falling into their path, so Kagome's got herself quite the situation there, eh?

Also, my friend got food poisoning the way Kagome did once... I think the meat was undercooked. So it is possible! Another girl on my ski race team also got food poisoning, but it was from fish.

Speaking of my race team, we didn't win the race, but I think I came in fifth or sixth for the girl's division. There were some really, really good racers there! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to get the next chapter out soon in between all the projects, tests and assignments that are due. Exams are next week! Ack! Talk to ya later, guys!

  
  



	5. Meet the Boys

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but you already knew that, didn't you?

A/N *Book hits Super Ceech in head. Super Ceech rubs head.* Ow... I've never had an imaginary book thrown at me before. Interesting...

Wow. Sorry for leaving everybody hanging last chapter, but don't worry; here's the conclusion to that evil ending. And I just want to say to inukagonly that I fully plan on finishing this fanfic. I have way too many good ideas and practically their whole trip planned out not to! 

Alright, the moment you've all been waiting for! The grand entrance of who you've all been starting to wonder will even enter this fic or not. Wait no longer, and read on!  
  


"Inuyasha, remind me why we're out here again."

Inuyasha flipped his long, silver ponytail over his shoulder and looked at his best friend, Miroku, who was standing and trying desperately to tie his own midnight black hair into a pathetic excuse for a ponytail at the back of his head. The violet eyes belonging to his friend implored him to reconsider his decision, but Inuyasha ignored them.

"You're just whining 'cause I pulled you away from that girl you discovered next door," Inuyasha snorted. "And if you really want to know, I want to have some fun on these slopes without having to train or worry about stupid Myouga. If I have to sneak out for some night skiing, I'll do it and it's not like you could stop me."

"So then, why are we being dragged out here with you?" Inuyasha's other buddy, Kouga, spoke up as his long black hair, tied up into a high ponytail, swayed in the wind. His bright blue eyes challenged Inuyasha's gold ones, but after a few moments of glaring directly into his fierce gaze, he looked away.

"Quit your griping," Inuyasha snapped. "Does the cold bother you or something? Are you afraid of the dark?"

"Oh, shut up, Inuyasha," Kouga retorted. "We're here aren't we? Now let's get on with it."

"Fine," Inuyasha said as he pushed off down the hill of which they had just been standing at the top of.

He could feel the edges of his skis biting into the hill and swinging him around each turn and he felt all his movements meld together in a smooth, relaxing, and rhythmic pattern. He kept his poles forward and allowed them to balance him as he took wide, sweeping turns down the hill. Then, to mix things up, he began making short, sharp turns to better test his speed, agility and reaction time.

As the run they were skiing on joined another, something caught Inuyasha's eye. Turning his head, he noticed a groomer was slowly making its way down the adjoining hill, and that there seemed to be an object or a figure directly in its path. 

Something compelled Inuyasha to act, and so he yelled to his friend skiing beside him, "Yo, Miroku! Take my poles and follow me!" With that, he threw his poles at Miroku who just barely managed to catch them by dropping his own poles and letting them dangle from the pole straps around his wrists.

Inuyasha, now pole-less, glided over to the next run and saw that the groomer was closing in on the figure. Quickly skiing up to it, he realized with horror that it was a person. Seeing that the groomer was practically upon them, Inuyasha scooped the person up in his arms, catching a brief glimpse of her face. What? Inuyasha thought to himself. I thought Kikyo was a better skier than this... Woah! Gotta get outta here!

Obviously the person driving the groomer couldn't see the pair since he kept on coming and Inuyasha vaguely noted to himself that a light illuminating this part of the hill had blown. Hugging the girl close to him, Inuyasha frantically pushed off and out of the way of the groomer just as it passed over the spot where the two of them had been.

Panting from the near-death experience, Inuyasha collapsed on the hill as the groomer continued further down the run. Looking down at the girl still in his arms, Inuyasha realized that her features were actually different than the girl he had mistaken her for. So it's not Kikyo, he thought. Who is she and what is she doing here?

Miroku and Kouga skied up to him at this point and saw what he held in his arms.

"Ah, a beautiful maiden in distress," Miroku commented. "I'll take it from here, Inuyasha," he continued, holding out his arms.

Inuyasha held the girl protectively against him. "Uh, somehow I don't think so, Miroku," he said sarcastically, eyeing his friend.

"What happened?" Kouga asked.

"Dunno," Inuyasha said, looking up the hill. "But, look, her equipment is strewn all across the hill. You guys want to get it before it gets mangled by Mr. Observant driving the big deadly machine over there?" Inuyasha asked, nodded his head in the direction of the groomer.

"Why can't you do it, or at least help?" Miroku whined.

"Because I'm making sure you don't do anything to this girl when you think I'm not looking," Inuyasha retorted.

Miroku's face held a wounded expression as he held a hand over his heart. "I am shocked, Inuyasha, that you think I would try something on this dazzling damsel here. I am truly shocked."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll bet. Hurry up and get on with it, lech."

After Miroku and Kouga had trudged around the hill collecting the girl's various skiing articles, the three of them slowly made their way to the bottom, being careful of their precious cargo. When they succeeded in completing the run, they saw two frantic girls anxiously looking up another hill.

Skiing over to them, Inuyasha spoke, "Hey, you girls lose something?" He indicated the girl in his arms.

The girls looked at the unconscious girl and gasped. "Kagome!" they cried. "What happened?!" the black haired one asked worriedly.

At this point, Miroku popped himself out of his skis and stepped forward, taking the girl's gloved hands in his own. "Fear not, my gorgeous lady, for Inuyasha daringly risked his life without hesitation in order to save your friend's. He raced over to where this poor damsel lay in distress of being groomed into the very hill and made a heroic rescue as he carried her away in his arms. Commanding his loyal sidekicks to gather her strewn equipment, he began his victory ski down the hill so that he could return his fair maiden to her friends fraught with concern," Miroku finished in an overly dramatic voice.

Inuyasha glared at his friend. "You know, Miroku," he began. "If I didn't have something in my arms at this moment in time, I sure as hell would smack you right now."

"Me? Inuyasha's loyal sidekick? As if," Kouga muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the two girls were just staring stupidly at Miroku. After opening and closing her mouth a few times, obviously unsure of what to say, the red head stuttered, "I-Inuyasha?" She looked blankly at him.

After a few minutes trapped under her gaze, Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "What!?" he snapped.

The girl shook her head. "Nothing. We just saw you a couple days ago, that's all. I was a little surprised. But, do you think she's alright?" she asked, talking about the girl named Kagome.

"I think so," Inuyasha replied carefully. "But I don't really know what happened before I found her. Want to fill us in?"

"Sure," the dark-haired girl responded, trying to released herself from Miroku's grip. "But do you think we could go inside first? It's freezing out here. The name's Sango, by the way, and this is Ayame," she said, indicating the red head.

"Why don't we go to our condo, Inuyasha?" Kouga suggested. "It's closer than the ones reserved for visitors and recreational skiers."

"Splendid idea, Kouga!" Miroku said. Leaning closer to Sango, who was still trying unsuccessfully to get away from him, he added, "My name's Miroku, by the way."

"Ooooh, Kouga!" Ayame squealed, unnerving the boy. "We heard about you too! You're going to be racing in that ski competition thing next week with Inuyasha, aren't you?"

"Uh... yeah..." Kouga said, looking around as if to find some way to escape the enthusiastic girl.

"Hurry up, you guys," Inuyasha cut in impatiently. "I'm not going to stand around here all night holding this girl."

"I'll carry her if you're too weak, Inuyasha," Kouga offered.

"How 'bout you lead the way instead?" Inuyasha shot back.

Kouga shrugged and popped off his skis, the others following his example. Slinging them and Inuyasha's over his shoulders, he sauntered off as the rest of the group scrambled to follow. 

After about a two minute walk, they reached a sizable condominium and went inside. Finding the boys' condo and entering, Inuyasha went and layed the girl, Kagome, on the living room couch as the others removed their ski boots and clothing. When he himself had removed his gear, he sat in front of the couch with his back leaning up against it.

Sango and Ayame then proceeded to tell the boys about Kagome's food poisoning and how she had believed she was fine and that they could go night skiing. ("Stupid girl," Inuyasha muttered.) When they had both reached the bottom of the run and there was no sign of Kagome, they had begun to get very worried. They had waited for a few minutes before the appearance of the boys.

"She's probably fine," Kouga reassured them. "She was most likely just suffering from lack of food and got really dizzy and fainted at a very bad time and place."

"Really?" Ayame beamed at him. When he nodded, she said, "Thank goodness! I mean, we were so worried and she wasn't coming down and it's our fault for letting her go and if you guys hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened and we're so grateful!"

Everyone stared at the girl who seemed to have a never-ending oxygen supply in disbelief.

"You're welcome...?" Kouga said slowly.  
  


~*~  
  


Kagome's eyes half-opened as she returned to a semi-conscious state and she noticed something silvery white laying before her. "Shiny..." she mumbled as she reached out to grasp it.  
  


~*~  
  


Inuyasha felt something yank at his hair and he spun around to find the girl he rescued asleep with a few strands of his hair gripped tightly in her one hand. "Do you mind?!" he yelled, startling her awake.

The girl sprung straight up, but quickly winced and put a hand to her head. Looking around and at the boys in confusion, she finally asked, "Where am I and how did I get here?"

Inuyasha glared at her and rubbed his abused scalp. "You're such a horrible skier that you fell on a hill that you should have been smart enough to stay off of and almost got mangled by a snow groomer. You're lucky I got there when I did, but maybe I shoulda just left you."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, it's you, is it? The great Inuyasha himself; the fastest seventeen year old alive with the worst egotistical attitude ever to be encountered. And for your information, pal, I got food poisoning and ended up falling down that hill involuntarily! As if I'm that dumb!"

"You look like it to me," Inuyasha said.

"Hey-!"

Kouga cut her off by smoothly stepping into her line of vision. "Excuse my, uh, 'friend', miss, he's not the nicest guy in the world."

Inuyasha snorted. "You're one to talk."

"He's being a lot nicer than you are," Kagome shot back at him.

"So, uh, Kagome," Sango started. "I take you're actually feeling better this ti-" Sango froze as she felt a foreign pressure reside on her backside. Slowly turning her head around and seeing Miroku behind her with his hand on her butt, she quickly jumped back as if she'd been standing on hot coals. "Pervert!" she screeched as she slapped him full across the face.

"Ah, but my dear lady," Miroku protested, rubbing his raw cheek. "You do me an injustice. For what else could anyone do when presented with such a pleasing posterior?"

Sango's face became cherry red, but whether from anger or embarrassment, Inuyasha couldn't tell.

"Uh, who's that?" Kagome asked uncertainly.

"That is Miroku, a lecher, and I, Kagome, am Kouga," Kouga replied. "But you may call me... Kouga."

Kagome blinked. "Okay..."

Inuyasha sighed and looked to the ceiling as if searching for a divine sign. "Why do I have to be stuck with a bunch of crazy girls and my friends who are determined to make fools of themselves?"

"Why do I have to be stuck in the same room with an arrogant jerk who thinks he rules the world?" Kagome mocked him.

Inuyasha snorted. "No one's keeping you here. The door's right there," he said, pointing.

"Then you won't mind if I use it!" Kagome snapped, stomping over to the door, still attired in her ski outfit.

"Not at all," Inuyasha said, taking her place on the couch and stretching his legs out to rest on the coffee table in front of him. "You go right ahead."

"Are you guys coming?" Kagome asked her friends in an irritated tone.

Sango and Ayame quickly scrambled into their discarded equipment in fear of Kagome's wrath. As the three girls were leaving, Ayame turned and said, "Bye, Inuyasha! Bye, Miroku! Bye, Kouga! See you guys later on the hill!" to which they heard Kagome mutter, "Heaven forbid," as the door slammed shut.  
  


A/N There ya go; I hope I'm forgiven now. Was it good? Did you like it? And gangsta-girl, do you want your book back? Kagome's not hurt or nothin'. I mean, what could I do with the story if she was stuck in the hospital for the rest of the trip?

Oh, oh, oh! The next chapter is where the real fun begins! I'll try to get it up for Saturday, but the rest of my week and then my weekend are gonna be pretty hectic, so no guarantees on the date. I'll do my best. Next week, though, I really will have to study for my exams (Biology, Math, Physics [can't study for English]). But then I get a whole week off in which I should be able to write a bunch.

So stay tuned, since the havoc begins next chapter, if it hasn't already, and you won't want to miss it!


	6. Skiing Havoc

Disclaimer: Do I look like Rumiko Takahashi to you? Wait... you can't see me... I might just be able to get away with it yet...

A/N Hello! This chapter's for sleep walking chicken and HAP because of your very first review. I already had this planned out before you reviewed, but I thought you'd appreciate it. I wanted to respond to it earlier, but I didn't want to give anything away.

Hee hee, it's okay gansta-girl, I understand your frustration. But Inu's here now, so yay!

Thanks for everyone else's reviews, too! They're all so nice and I'm glad you're all liking so much. There's an A/N at the bottom you should read too before leaving.

Okay, here's your promised chapter before my agonizing exams. Ugh... exams...

  
  


"You should have at least thanked him," Ayame chided Kagome for the fourth time that morning.

"Not with that attitude," Kagome protested. "I will thank him, but then was not the time. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Ignore his insults and give him a sappy thank you or defend myself like I did?" Kagome skilfully flipped the pancake she was frying and continued. "Anyways, with any luck, we won't see them again anymore. I mean, they're these awesome amazing racers in this super-human race league. They'll probably be doing all the double black diamond runs and we won't run into each other."

"I think you're hoping for a bit much there, Kagome," Sango butt in. "We're here for a whole two weeks and there's only so many double black diamond hills they can ski on before they get bored of them."

Kagome sighed. "Do you enjoy ruining my life, Sango?"

Sango grinned. "Every minute of it."

Kagome smirked at her as a thought crossed her mind. "Oh, I dunno, Sango; it's even like you want to see that Miroku guy again, eh?"

Sango shuddered. "On your life! That guy is a total pervert and really, really creepy!"

Ayame giggled. "But, you gotta admit, guys, they all were pretty hot."

"What?!" Kagome cried. "Please, Ayame, you did not just say that."

"Oh, come on, Kagome," Ayame said. "You may not like them, but they are good-looking."

"Even I've gotta agree with Ayame on this one," Sango said. "Even though Miroku's still really creepy and I wouldn't feel safe unless he was at least ten feet away; no, twenty feet; heck, I wouldn't feel safe under the same roof as him!"

"Ugh, whatever," Kagome said. "Pancakes are ready!"

Sango and Ayame scurried up from the kitchen table they had recently been occupying and grabbed their plates. Loading them up with two massive pancakes each, they sat back down and dug in. Kagome joined them, and after a few incoherent attempts at conversation, the three girls decided it would be better to eat breakfast in silence.

After cleaning their empty dishes, the girls prepared for another day of skiing. When Kagome had finished zipping up into her green and white ski suit and buckling up her ski boots, she turned to her friends.

"Onwards, we go!" she said, grabbing her skis and poles and heading out the door, with Sango and Ayame just behind.

They had just reached the chairlifts and begun their wait in line, when Kagome recognized with dread a voice that spoke up directly behind her.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," it said. She slowly turned around and saw the last person who she wanted to see at that moment in time.

"Oh, great; racer boy," she retorted. Inuyasha was standing in line behind her with Miroku and Kouga.

"Trying to improve your skiing by falling into the path of a snowmobile this time instead?" Inuyasha smirked.

"Ha, ha. You think you're so funny, don't you?" Kagome said.

"Actually, yes," Inuyasha said as he smirked at her again. 

She glared at him before turning back around with a huff. "Of all the nerve..."

"Pervert!" Sango screeched, making her tune back into the world and realize that Miroku had tried groping Sango through her snowsuit.

"Oh, great..." she muttered to herself. "This day just gets better and better."

"Hi, Kouga!" Ayame said brightly to the boy behind her.

"Uh, hi," Kouga responded.

"You guys just get out?" Ayame questioned.

"Yeah, this'll be our first run," Kouga said. "Figure, we'll take it easy."

"Says you," Inuyasha cut in. "You're such a wimp."

"At least I don't smell like dog crap," Kouga shot back. "And is there a problem with not wanting to break something before the competition next week? The competition, by the way, that I will win?"

"You'll win when the devil straps on skates," Inuyasha snorted.

"Uh, you guys wanna do the first run with us, then?" Ayame interrupted their bickering.

"Ayame!" Sango and Kagome both cried in anguish.

"What?" Ayame asked innocently as the three of them skied forward to mount the chairlift.

"Why did you invite them?!" Kagome said, exasperated.

"Why not?" Ayame responded with that same innocent look plastered on her face.

"Urgh, you're impossible," Sango told her.

"I try," Ayame said, grinning.

When the three friends unloaded from the chairlift, they noticed the boys immediately followed them upon disembarking themselves. In hopes of losing them, Kagome started skiing towards the nearest hill as fast as she could. Her hope was in vain, however, since Inuyasha shot past her and stopped to block her path.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Away from you," Kagome said, digging her poles into the soft snow and pushing herself past him towards the hill. "Got a problem with that?"

Inuyasha shrugged casually. "Suits me just fine; just don't expect me to come save you again."

"Hmph! Stupid little kabajabilru..." she trailed off incoherently. "I can take care of myself!" She promptly shoved off the top of the hill as if trying to prove her point.

"Didn't know you liked double black diamonds!" Inuyasha called down the hill after her.

"Double black diam... Oh crap!" Kagome uttered as she streaked past the double black diamond rating of the hill. She let out a shrill scream as she noticed she was approaching icy moguls.

Hearing the scream, Inuyasha muttered, "Stupid girl!" before lowering his goggles and heading down the hill after her.

"Ahhhhh!" Kagome screamed as the distance between her and the moguls rapidly shrunk.

Just as she was about to shoot off the first mogul and become the first human to fly, a strong grip encircled her upper arm and swung her around to the side, effectively stopping her. Kagome looked up at her saviour, surprised to see Inuyasha looming over her.

"I, but... you and... hill... moguls... ice... double black diamond!" Kagome wailed before collapsing to sit on her butt at Inuyasha's feet.

"Keh. I knew you couldn't ski," Inuyasha said, lifting his goggles off his face and settling them atop his head.

Kagome immediately straightened and stood up. "Well, sorry, Mr. Ski-God sir, that I'm not as good as you; but that doesn't mean I'm a bad skier!"

"You were hardly turning at all; plus you were pivoting all over the place!" Inuyasha retorted.

Kagome shoved her face up close to his, ignoring the swirling depths of his golden eyes. "I was in a bit of a state of shock, mister!... What do mean, pivoting?"

Inuyasha turned his face to the side, looking at her out of the corner of his eye. "Why should I tell you after saving your ass twice and receiving no thank you?"

Kagome gritted her teeth, but bit back her next remark. After all, he did save her twice, and she had acted completely ungrateful; even though he'd acted completely rude and inconsiderate... "Fine. Thank you incredibly much for saving my ass twice; now would you tell me what pivoting means?!"

"Wow. That was really convincing and genuine; I could tell it came straight from your heart," Inuyasha said sarcastically, wiping a fake tear from his eye. But he continued anyway, "Pivoting is when you just turn your whole body around and then you skid around the turn. What you want to do is roll your ankles so that the skis bite into the hill and then pull you around the turn; not the other way around. Although I wouldn't start practising on this hill; it's a little too advanced for you."

Kagome looked at him closely, trying to determine whether or not he was making fun of her. Since she came to no conclusion, she shrugged and said, "'Kay. But how am I supposed to finish this run? Those moguls aren't exactly inviting."

Inuyasha eyed her. "If you can follow me through half of them, we can ditch this hill for the next one over by that path down there. If you think you can handle it, that is," he finished cockily.

Kagome held her head high. "I can take it," she replied stubbornly. "Just lead the way."

Inuyasha skied past her started slowly manoeuvring through the moguls, being sure to keep Kagome right behind him. When they finally escaped the dreaded bumps, they skied through the passage connecting the hill they were currently on to another, which was luckily a lower level of difficulty. When they reached the bottom of that run, they spotted their other four companions patiently waiting for them near the chairlift.

"What took you?" Kouga asked as they skied up to them. "Are you okay, Kagome?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, unfortunately, to him," Kagome answered, jabbing her thumb in Inuyasha's direction.

"Keh. Some grateful person you are," Inuyasha said, glaring at her. "Would you rather that I had left you to become a human projectile?"

"It's not that. It's that you were so rude about it afterwards," Kagome informed him.

"Whatever. Let's take the gondola this time," Inuyasha said, ending the argument.

"Good idea, Inuyasha," Miroku said, turning to Kagome. "May I help you out of your skis, madame?"

"Uh, thanks, Miroku, but I don't think..." Kagome trailed off as Miroku's hand applied itself to her butt. "Aiiiiiiieee!!!" she screeched as she leapt for the nearest thing to her. This just happened to be Inuyasha, but she was still clasped into her skiis and so she more like fell on him, toppling him over like dominoes.

"Hey!" came Inuyasha's muffled protest. "Get off!" He shoved Kagome off of him as all the others proceeded to smack Miroku over the head. "Urgh, I'm so gonna kill you, Miroku!" Inuyasha growled as he stood up. Kagome scrambled up after him and used him as a wall between her and his perverted friend.

Miroku, meanwhile, laughed nervously at the death glare Inuyasha was sending his way, and quickly dashed for the gondola. The others popped out of their skis and ran after him. They caught up with him as soon as he stuck his skis into the holding slots and boarded the little cabin.

Once inside, Inuyasha smacked Miroku over the head harder than anyone else had. "You stupid pervert!" he said heatedly.

Miroku rubbed the forming lump on the back of his head. "Ow..." he whined.

"So you guys excited about that race next week?" Ayame asked Inuyasha and Kouga, trying to return the atmosphere to somewhat normalcy.

"Uhhh..." Kouga and Inuyasha looked at each other.

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked.

"Well, we would be excited if not for all the damn reporters and our stupid coach Myouga following us around everywhere," Kouga finally responded.

Ayame looked from Kouga to Inuyasha. "You guys share Myouga as a coach?"

"Yeah. I mean, might as well," Kouga told her. "Less cost if we split it."

"So why are you trying to get away from Myouga?" Sango inquired. "Aren't you supposed to train with him?"

"Yeah, but we also need some time to unwind before the race; some time to relax and have fun," Inuyasha said. "I mean, we won't like skiing much longer if all we do while participating in the sport is do annoying training exercises."

"So what about those reporters?" Kagome asked curiously.

Inuyasha snorted. "They all want to know every single detail about the 'fastest seventeen year olds alive' and their every single thought on the upcoming competition." Kouga nodded in agreement.

"Oh," Kagome said softly.

After about five more minutes of light-hearted chatting, the gondola reached the top of the mountain and they grabbed their skis and headed out.

"This looks like a good one," Miroku said, indicating a blue square. The others nodded and they started down.

About halfway down, the girls noticed the boys, who were skiing ahead of them, indicate for them to slow down. They saw all three of them spin to side, stopping and flinging up snow that showered a group of people in the middle of the hill. When the girls approached, they saw Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga standing on the hill a little above some now very snowy snowboarders. Many of the snowboarders were smoking, but now they all looked very ticked off.

"What's your problem?" a boy with a long dark braid trailing down his back spat.

Inuyasha gave him a disgusted look. "Sorry," he said sarcastically. "If you weren't right in the middle of the damn hill, I might not have come so close to hitting you. I'll look harder for your bodies blocking the run next time," he sneered.

"It's none of your business where we choose to sit," a girl with short black hair and a red headband spoke up.

"I'd say it's our business if you're trying to kill us with second hand smoke," Kouga said, kicking his ski into the snow and flinging some more snow onto the group of about seven or eight.

"That's it!" the boy with the braid yelled. "Get 'em!"

Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga yelped and quickly turned to the girls who had stopped nearby to observe the scene, grabbing their wrists. "Let's get out of here!"

The six sped down the hill as the smoking snowboarders hastened to put out their cigarettes and take up pursuit.

Looking behind, Miroku shouted to Inuyasha, "They're gaining on us!"

"Like hell!" Inuyasha shouted back. "Everybody, tuck!" He crouched down, sticking his elbows between his knees and holding his poles so stuck out horizontally behind him. Everyone else mimicked his actions and their speed increased tenfold.

Skidding to a halt at the chairlift, they quickly mounted it before the snowboarders reached them. When they unloaded at the top and were searching for a new hill to ski down, Ayame suddenly called out, "Snowboarders at four o'clock!"

"Ski away!" Miroku yelled. He skied off as fast as he could, the others following, and their pursuers not far behind.

They skied around frantically for the rest of the morning, going from hill to hill, desperately intent on shaking the snowboarders whose wrath they had provoked.

  
  


A/N Alrighty, there be your much sought after chapter. Hope you liked it! ^_^

What I wanted to mention is that I really have no disrespect to truly talented snowboarders, or beginners. If your good at snowboarding then I congratulate you, 'cause it does take talent. I've never personally tried it, because I've always hated the thought of having my feet strapped together and not having independent movement. So I've got nothing against really good or beginner snowboarders (because you're just learning it). What I do hate, however, are snowboarders like in this chapter. Ones who sit in the middle of the hill and obstruct everyone else who trying to have a good time's path, just 'cause they think they're incredibly cool or something. Especially when they just sit there and smoke. There's kids on the hill! I mean, come on...

Anyway, enough of my ranting. I just didn't want anyone to be offended or get the wrong idea.

I'm gonna have a lot of fun with these snowboarders... heh heh... I'll shut up now. 

Bye, and tell me what you thought of it! I gotta head out to another race now. Sigh... Hope we win!


	7. Lunch, Competition, and a Little Friendl...

Disclaimer: I don't have Inuyasha here, but I do have two other ridiculously cute puppies. I'm satisfied.

A/N Alright, my damn bus was cancelled, bumping my exams back a day! Waaah, that means my trip to go visit my brother is also delayed and shortened. No fair! They couldn't seem to cancel them last week. Argh! But, I guess it does mean that I'm updating sooner (I don't feel like studying anymore, my brain hurts).

What I'd like to say first is that I'm sorry, Daggerpoint, that you felt categorized with my snowboarders from last chapter. I tried to explain in my A/N last chapter, but I guess it didn't come out quite the way I wanted (I was rushing to get it out so I could go to my race). I really have no beef with any snowboarders except the ones like in the last chapter (trust me, they are out there!). I wasn't trying to imply that all snowboarders are like that, only a select few. I quite agree that snowboarding attracts many different kinds of people; I've met a lot of very nice ones myself. I mean, the sport of skiing attracts a lot of different kinds of people as well (there are some real jackass skiers out there!). I chose to put the annoying snowboarders in 'cause I figured our lovable group needed some arch-nemeses, and it wouldn't quite work if they were skiers too. If you still don't like to think of them as 'the annoying snowboarders', think of them as... well, I already gave two descriptions of them in the last chapter, you guys figure it out! (KagomeHigurashi66, you got it right! Yay!) And finally, if it makes you feel better, I was considering for a brief moment whether or not to make Miroku a snowboarder, but I just couldn't see it. It doesn't really fit his character.

Whoo, that was long, but I had to get that out. I really don't want anyone to take offense or anything. I'm not trying to insult anyone, I'm only trying to maximize the humour and amusement. As I said before, I'm going to have fun with these guys, so please keep in mind I know not all snowboarders are like this, and I'm just adding them to add another aspect to this fic.

We won our race, by the way! Yay, us! I got fifth, and was 0.06 seconds away from fourth. Isn't that a kick in the pants? Alright, I really will shut up now. Here's your chapter!

  
  


"Why did you do that again?!" Kagome panted, glaring at Inuyasha as she leaned on the doorframe leading into the lodge.

Inuyasha shrugged. "It seemed like the thing to do at the time. I mean, at least they got off the hill and put out their cigarettes."

"Yeah," Kagome agreed sarcastically. "We won a battle today, so we can stand proud and run away!" she said with false pride.

"Would you have rather gotten mauled by the snowboarders, my dear Kagome?" Miroku asked, coming up behind her. 

Kagome shot him a nervous glance before scooting inside the lodge after Inuyasha. "What'd I say?" Miroku asked dazedly as Sango walked up to him after having deposited her skis on the rack.

"Hmmm, lemme think," Sango said slowly and thoughtfully. "It probably has something to do with being the biggest, creepiest pervert she's ever had the displeasure of encountering." She shrugged. "At least, that's my opinion."

Miroku turned to her with a pained expression and grasped both her hands in his. "Dearest Sango, do you truly think so ill of me?"

Sango looked at him speculatively and thought for a moment. "Actually... Yes; yes I do."

Miroku flung the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic fashion. "Oh, the cruel fate I bear to be thus prejudiced!"

Sango rolled her eyes and pried her hands from his grip. "At least I'm not alone in this assumption. Right, guys?" she asked Kouga and Ayame who were about to walk past them and into the lodge.

Kouga stopped and turned to them. "I don't have to assume, I know. It's kinda hard not to after knowing the guy for ten years."

Sango peered at Miroku suspiciously. "Just how long have you been a pervert?" When Miroku opened his mouth to reply, she cut him off. "Never mind, I really don't want to know."

"In that case, ladies first," Miroku said, gesturing to the lodge doors.

Sango eyed Miroku warily. "Actually, I believe it's perverts first," she said. Ayame nodded and Miroku sighed.

Trudging in, the four waylaid companions found Kagome and Inuyasha still bickering about the snowboarder incident.

"If you hadn't provoked them, my morning wouldn't have been wasted skiing around with you, trying to escape them!" Kagome was saying.

"Keh. I suppose I shoulda just have let them carry on smoking and blocking the hill. You make it sound like I'm the bad guy here," Inuyasha retorted. "Besides, a little exercise never hurt anyone and I'm not that bad of company."

"Shows what you know," Kagome muttered, crossing her arms and shooting him a defiant look.

"Righty then; moving on!" Ayame said, cutting in between the two. "Lunch time!"

Everyone scrambled to grab trays and get in the lunch line before it got too long. When they finally got their chance to order, Sango first, and then Ayame, ordered poutine, as usual. 

When the lunch lady asked Kagome what she would like, she cried out desperately, "Poutine! Most definitely poutine! In fact... two poutines!"

The lunch lady gave Kagome an odd look, but prepared the food nonetheless. At this point, Inuyasha skipped out of the line to go prepare himself a hot chocolate as Miroku and Kouga also ordered poutine.

Paying for their lunches, the six companions sat down at a corner table; Ayame smiling brightly at Kouga who smiled brightly at Kagome whilst she scowled at a smirking Inuyasha who sat beside a dreamy looking Miroku who was gazing into the deadly glare that Sango was shooting at him from across the table.

The tension was broken when the aroma wafting from Kagome's poutine met her nostrils, causing her to break eye contact with Inuyasha and gaze lovingly down at it. "Ah, my glorious poutine," she sighed, stroking it with her fork. "I'll never brush you off again, I swear! I'll be forever faithful from now on and I'll never ever forsake you for another!" She smiled blissfully as she popped the first gravy and cheese covered fry into her mouth. "Mmmm..."

Meanwhile, the males of the group were looking on with blank expressions. "Ummm..." Inuyasha began. "Wha-?"

"You don't want to know," Sango interrupted. "Let's just say she cheated on poutine and her infidelity led to what happened last night."

"Oh," Inuyasha said in understanding, although his facial expression was just as confused as before.

"So, my lovely ladies, what brings you to this stupendous mountain?" Miroku questioned. "Do you here come here often?" he continued with a devilish grin.

Inuyasha and Kouga groaned while Sango and Ayame glared at the perverted boy, and Kagome remained oblivious, intent on fawning over her delicious poutine.

"Oh, like that wasn't the lamest and oldest pick-up line in the entire wor-" Sango cut off abruptly as she realized something. "Miroku! Are you trying to play footsies with me?!" she screeched, kicking his wandering feet under the table.

At this, the other boys and even Ayame burst out laughing while Miroku managed to somehow look abashed. Meanwhile, Kagome looked up blankly from her lunch. "Tootsie rolls?" she asked distractedly.

"Eh, heh... You just go back to eating your poutine, Kagome," Ayame said, patting Kagome on the head like a puppy. "I mean, you wouldn't want the poutine gods to think you've forgotten them so quickly after making up; and for tootsie rolls of all things!" Ayame managed to say in an astonished and scandalized way. 

Kagome shook her head furiously and dove back into her poutine as Inuyasha reached over the table to grab a fry from her second one. She smacked his hand and cradled her poutines protectively in front of her. "No touchie!" she snapped. "Go order your own!"

"Why, Kagome!" Inuyasha said, feigning hurt. "I only figured that you ordered the second one for me. I mean it's not like you're going to be able to eat both of them; might as well accept my generosity and allow me to help you."

Kagome scoffed. "Yeah, right. You help me. That's a good one. You only want to cash in on a free lunch. Moocher!" she said accusingly. "Besides, you can't eat them. They're my offering to appease the poutine gods."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said as he deftly swiped a fry before she could stop him.

"Hey!" Kagome protested as he ate his stolen goods.

"Erm, anyway..." Ayame said, turning back to Miroku. "We just came up here Friday, and we're staying for the next two weeks. It's Kagome's birthday present," she explained.

Miroku brightened. "It's the lovely Kagome's birthday? When? And how old will she be?"

Kagome glanced nervously at Miroku's lecherous grin. "Uh, Saturday...? Seventeen...?" Kagome responded with a slight squeak in her voice.

Miroku's grin grew. "Will you be wearing your birthday suit?"

Kagome's cheeks flushed a deep red in embarrassment as Inuyasha and Sango, being the closest, smacked Miroku as hard as they could.

"Stupid pervert," Sango muttered.

"Damn lech," Inuyasha agreed.

"Ow... Inuyasha, I thought you were supposed to be my friend!" Miroku said in a whiny voice as if he were a six year old.

"Keh. What ever gave you that idea?" Inuyasha snorted.

Miroku looked at him with teary eyes. "Did all those years of friendship mean nothing? Were they all just a lie?" He sniffed loudly and Ayame stifled a giggle.

Kagome looked from one boy to the other. "How long have you two known each other?" she asked curiously.

Inuyasha glared at Miroku who was still looking at him as if he had committed the deepest, most unforgivable betrayal. "Too long," he muttered. "I met him at our local ski hill when we were five. He knocked me over while attempting to chase after a crying girl. He told me he was trying to comfort her about getting separated from her mother..." Inuyasha shot Miroku a suspicious glance. "I still don't believe him. But he seemed like good enough company and so we started skiing together."

"And we've been best friends ever since," Miroku said in a quavering voice as he wiped away a fake tear. "At least, that's what I thought! Oh, Sango, comfort me in my time of need!" he cried, flinging himself on the unsuspecting girl.

Sango froze for the split second it took for Miroku's hand to connect with her butt. "Pervert!!" she screamed as she shoved him off of her and slapped him. 

As other skiers in the lodge turned to look over at what the commotion was, Kagome, Inuyasha, Kouga and Ayame found other fixtures in the room that seemed of great interest and songs that when whistled the right way were quite catchy.

Once the onlookers had lost interest in the little group, Kouga snapped, "Look, Miroku, would you just lay off for once? You repel more girls that way than attract them!"

"He's attracted girls at all?" Ayame asked blankly.

Kouga thought for a moment. "Hmmm... I guess not... See, Miroku? It doesn't pay off! You'd think you might get a clue..."

"When did you meet Inuyasha and Miroku, Kouga?" Kagome asked him.

"Oh, when we were seven, I moved to Rhalston-" Kouga began.

"Rhalston?!" Kagome cut in. "You did not just say that; did you?"

"Yeah..." Kouga said slowly. "It's where we live..."

"Oh, for the love of...!" Kagome cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

"That's not possible..." Sango said in disbelief.

"Hey, what's your problem?!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Rhalston is where we live too!" Kagome wailed. "How could you?!"

"You make it sound like a crime..." Inuyasha muttered.

"Hey, it's not that bad!" Ayame chimed.

"Yes, I quite agree," Miroku said. "I can come visit all you lovely ladies at your houses now."

Sango blanched. "This is horrible!" she sobbed as Miroku just grinned at her like an idiot.

"How come we've never seen you?" Kagome asked the guys suspiciously.

"Uh, I dunno," Kouga responded. "But we live on the east side and we go to Durkson High."

"At least we don't go to the same high school!" Kagome said exasperated. "I think I'd have to kill myself!"

"We live on the west side and go to Torke High," Ayame explained. "Rhalston's a pretty big city, though, so it's probably no surprise we've never run into each other. Plus you guys have probably been away a lot for racing things... but, still...what are the chances?"

"Not slim enough, apparently," Sango gritted through her teeth as she watched Miroku shift closer to her. "Don't even think about it, Miroku!" she said, glaring at him for all she was worth.

He gave her the most innocent look he could muster and asked, "Think about what, dearest Sango?"

"You know what, pervert, and if 'what' happens, I swear your life will be mine!" Sango threatened.

"But, Sango, my life already belongs to you. You have but to ask and I will comply to your every whim," Miroku declared.

"Well, in that case," Sango said, her eyebrow twitching. "Would you mind getting your hand away from my ass!?"

Miroku obediently whipped his hand back to his side and allowed his innocent façade to beam back at her.

Ayame sighed and looked around at her friends. Everyone seemed to have finished eating; Inuyasha having periodically stolen fries from Kagome's poutines enough so that both were polished off. "You guys done?" she asked for confirmation. When everyone nodded, she said, "Well, then, let's hit the slopes again!"

The group stood up from the table, grabbing their trays and garbage. Dumping the garbage in the trash can and laying the trays on top of it, they reapplied all of their skiing gear and trudged out of the lodge.

After riding up as far as the middle of the mountain via the chairlift, the group looked around. "Where to now?" Kagome asked.

"Jump park!" Miroku suggested. Kouga and Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

The girls sighed. "Fine," Sango consented. "But don't think we're going to do some crazy jumps at velocities high enough to break our backs if we screw something up!"

Miroku held his hands up in front of him in a defensive position. "You can just ski around the jumps if you want," he informed them.

"That's what Kouga'll be doin' anyway," Inuyasha said.

"Hey, dog-turd, I'm a hell of a better jumper than you!" Kouga shot back.

"In your dreams," Inuyasha snorted, skiing towards the jump hill. The others soon followed and they shortly arrived at their destination. "You go first, Miroku," Inuyasha said.

Miroku shrugged. "Okay." He pushed off and built up as much speed as he could before arriving at the first jump. Going airborne, he crossed his skis twice in the air before landing perfectly and stopping a bit farther on down the hill.

"I'll go next," Kouga spoke up. He sped down the hill, pushing with his poles to give him more momentum for the upcoming jump. When he flew into the air, he crossed the back of his skis and reached behind himself to grab their tips before straightening out, landing, and joining Miroku.

The girls were looking on in awe. "Wow..." Ayame said quietly in amazement. "That's crazy cool..."

"Yeah..." Kagome agreed breathlessly.

Inuyasha flipped his long ponytail over his shoulder. "Keh. That's nothing."

Kagome looked at him speculatively. "Really?" she asked, a high note of suspicion in her voice. "I bet you can't do better."

"I'll take you up on that bet," Inuyasha said smugly. "What are the stakes?"

Kagome felt doubtful for a second, but knew she couldn't back down now. He couldn't actually best them, could he?

"Uhhh... I dunno," Kagome said uncertainly. "A penny?"

Inuyasha laughed. "Yeah, right, like you're getting off that easily. How about if I win, you have to cook my breakfast for the next three days."

Kagome considered it. It wasn't too bad except for the fact that she'd have to be in his insufferable presence. "And if I win?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I'll buy your lunch tomorrow."

Kagome shook her head. "That'd just be making up for how you swiped half my lunch today. Besides, my side of the bet is three days. You've got to meet that."

Inuyasha sighed. "Fine, stupid, I'll buy your lunch three days in a row. Happy now?"

Kagome nodded. "Off you go," she said, making a shooing motion with her hands.

Just as Inuyasha was about to perform his 'stunning stunt', a boy streaked past them, effectively cutting Inuyasha off as he headed for the jump. His black locks flowed out behind him as he flew off the end of the jump and twisted so he could grab the side of one of his skis with his hand. As he straightened out and landed, he stopped abruptly near Miroku and Kouga, showering them with snow.

Inuyasha glared at the offending boy. "I'll show him," he muttered as he raced down towards the jump. Flying into the air, Inuyasha imitated the boy by grabbing the side of one of his skis, but improved the jump as he spun around in a complete three-sixty. Landing gracefully, Inuyasha quickly stopped just short of the other boy, flinging snow at him like he had at his friends. The girls quickly skied down to join them, ignoring the jump.

"Nice jump," the boy with the long, black hair said, though the way he said it made it seem more like an insult than anything else.

"Who're you?" Inuyasha asked rudely.

"I'm surprised you don't know your competition, Inuyasha," the guy stated. "The name's Naraku, and I'm taking first next week."

"Yeah, right," Kouga spat. "I'd like to see you try. I'll be the one wearing the gold."

Naraku glanced at him. "Ah, Kouga, I presume. But what you don't understand, Kouga, is that I have more FIS points than you, which obviously makes it clear who the better racer is."

"Hey, buddy!" Ayame said, poking Naraku in the chest with her pole. "You don't have to be so cutthroat about it! It's just a little competition! You could lighten up a little and try to have some fun with it instead of being so mean and nasty!"

Naraku chuckled. "It's a little bit more serious than a little competition, girl. At this level, everyone's mean and nasty. And whoever's the meanest and the nastiest will come out on top."

"Moron," Inuyasha muttered. "Who do you think you are, anyway? Some sort of god?"

"No, just the future gold medalist," Naraku replied. "And someone who will leave you behind in my-er-snow."

"Keh. You wish!" Inuyasha retorted. "I'm the one that's gonna win, kicking your sorry ass back to wherever it came from!"

"Okay, okay, time to break it up," Kagome interjected, trying to break the tension. "You guys will have enough time to deal death threats to one another next week at the competition; no need to start now. Let's just go our separate ways, 'kay?"

Inuyasha and Kouga each shot a last glare at Naraku before turning away. "Yeah..." said Kouga slowly. "Let's go... away from this scum."

"See ya later, dirtbags!" Naraku called after the group as they skied down the rest of the hill, dodging the jumps.

~*~

"Whoa, what a long day," Kagome said, flopping back on the couch in the girls' condo.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sango agreed. "Who knew Miroku could continuously recover so quickly after every time I smacked him for groping me."

A twinkle appeared in Kagome's eyes. "Oh, all you have to do is wiggle your butt at him and he'll recover from a coma. C'mon, Sango, he's got the hots for you and there's no use denying it. In fact, you should embrace it and nab the guy. I mean, like Ayame said this morning, he's kinda hot and just think; he could be all yours," Kagome finished with a giggle.

Sango glared at her friend. "Kagome," she gritted out between clenched teeth. "I suggest you run."

"Eeep!" Kagome squeaked as Sango made a mad dash at her with her hands outstretched as if to strangle her. She sprung off the couch and started running around it in circles as Sango pursued her closely.

"Isn't he totally hot?" Ayame asked dreamily to no one in particular as she stared down at a notebook she had taken out of her suitcase.

Kagome stopped running to peer over Ayame's shoulder. Seeing that she had drawn a fairly accurate picture of Kouga, she said, "Hey, that's pretty go-" She was cut off when Sango's arm wrapped around her neck from behind and dragged her backwards. "Ack!"

As Kagome was struggling to break Sango's hold, Ayame continued, "Yeah, he's so hot and nice and cool and... Oh, but I don't think he really notices me. I think he kinda likes you, Kagome." 

She heard a crash behind her and turned around to see that Kagome had finally broken Sango's grip and had somehow flung her to the ground. Her friend's expression was a mixture between shocked and frightened. "Eh, heh, what?" Kagome asked in a high voice.

"You can kinda tell he's got a bit of a crush on you, Kagome," Sango said, kicking Kagome's legs out from underneath her.

As Kagome hit the ground, she moaned, "No fair..."

"No fair about Kouga or no fair about me knocking you down?" Sango questioned.

"Both," Kagome grumbled. "Kouga's nice, but, but..."

"But what?" Ayame asked in a tone that told Kagome she'd be dead if she insulted her new crush.

"But he's not my, uh, type," Kagome said, laughing nervously. "Unlike how Miroku is Sango's exact ty-eek!" she cried as Sango pounced on her. "Ayame, heeeeelp!"

Ayame looked at her thoughtfully. "Oh, I dunno..."

"I'll-I'll help you get Kouga!" Kagome bribed, trying to throw the homicidal Sango off of her.

"How?" Ayame asked shrewdly.

"I'll, um, use my influence on him! I'll give you strategically placed opportunities! I'll do everything in my power to get his affection transferred from me to you, I swear! Just help!" she pleaded.

Ayame sighed. "Fine," she said as she pried Sango off of her breathless friend. "But, don't force it, okay? If he truly doesn't like me, then fine. I just want him to have a chance to notice me and get to know me, 'kay?"

Kagome rubbed her neck where Sango had been trying to wring the life out of it. "Will do," she agreed. "There will be no forcing on my part. The whole relationship will happen naturally. Just like Sango and Miroku's relationship is happening so natu-ahhhhhh!"

  
  


A/N Oh, boy, that was long... way longer than I had originally intended... But that's okay, 'cause it means a longer chapter for you guys to read! ^_^ I hope it makes up for my absence and I hope you liked it! I still have two exams to go so I'm not quite on my break yet, but I decided to sneak out this chapter anyway. Grrrr... I should only have one exam left if it wasn't for those damn bus cancellations...

Okay, I'm not a ski jumper, so I just kinda made up those jumps... I think a couple of them might have been real, but I can't remember their names... Oh, the city they live in and the schools they go to aren't real either... I made them up (I know the names suck, but they get the point across, right?)

Okey dokey, I don't really have anything else to say, so I hope to hear what you thought of my super duperly long chapter and I'll talk to ya later!


	8. Disorganized Chaos

A/N Yay, exams are over!!! Woohoo! And now I'm back from my trip to see my brother and into a fun-filled new semester at school. Peachy... 

Thanks for all your nice reviews, everybody, they make me feel so loved! Every time I see I have a new review, I get a great big warm and fuzzy feeling (as I've mentioned before). You guys are so nice and I'm glad you're all loving my story so much! You being happy makes me being happy! ^_^

Though no one mentioned it, I'm sure you all were thinking it; that Inu, Kouga and Miroku just happened to live in the same city as Kagome, Ayame and Sango. But, let me tell you, miraculous coincidences are entirely possible and highly probable. Once, after having bought tickets to go see the Lion King (on stage; it was so good!), I was talking with my friend and it turned out that she had bought tickets too for the same day, same showing, same balcony (there were two) and same row! Is that not miraculous or what? Another time, my family and I went up to Mont Tremblant for some skiing, and we happened to meet my second cousin there who lives in the same city as us; neither of us knew the other was going. That's pretty coincidental, eh? And you can relate it to this fic. So although it's kinda unlikely, it is very possible. (You can probably begin to tell from all my rants that this fic is a compellation of all my skiing experiences with a whole ton of my other wacky ideas intertwined.)

And as a last note to sleepwalking chicken and HAP, poutine is basically french fries covered in grated mozzarella cheese (or curds-that's the original way) with hot gravy poured on top. Mmmm, it's sooo good. Bestest ski food ever! Heehee, sorry 'bout the confusion, but now, whenever you go skiing, order it! You will not regret it! Oh, and snowboardchamp, thanks for such a high rating! I feel so loved!

  
  


"Wake up, lazy bones," came Ayame's far away voice to Kagome's groggy mind.

Kagome mumbled incoherently at the disturbance but otherwise ignored it.

"Kagome." Ayame's voice sounded a bit more irritated now.

"'N some party favours..." Kagome muttered in her half stupor.

"Urgh... Kagome, get up NOW!" Ayame yelled, breaking through Kagome's sleep barrier.

"Okay, I'm up, I'm up!" Kagome said wearily, sitting up. She immediately felt a pain in her head. "Ow... Sango hits hard, doesn't she?" she asked Ayame distantly.

Ayame shrugged. "You asked for it."

"She wouldn't have taken it so literally if she hadn't already been thinking about it so seriously," Kagome said with a smirk. Her face soon became pale, however, when she spotted Sango herself in the doorway. "Heh, heh, gotta run!" she cried, dashing for the bathroom, a fuming Sango behind her. Looking out of the bathroom window, she saw that hardly any light touched the sky. "Hey, Ayame?" she called through the locked door.

"Yeah?" came the muffled reply.

"Why'd you get me up so early?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, well, seeing as you don't like getting out on the slopes even one minute late, I figured you should get up earlier in order to cook Inuyasha's breakfast," Ayame explained.

"What?!" Kagome exclaimed.

"You know," Sango answered this time, letting an ominous tone creep into her voice. "Inuyasha undoubtably topped Miroku and Kouga's jumps and you did make that bet with him... We were there."

Kagome groaned. "Think he'll remember?" she asked.

"Think he'll forget?" Ayame countered.

"Ugh, you've got a point..." Kagome said. "Why me?" she asked no one in particular as she prepared her shower.

When she was washed and dressed, Kagome charged downstairs to grab her ski gear. As she began buckling her boots, she noticed Ayame and Sango sitting at the kitchen table, still in their pajamas. "Aren't you guys coming, too?" she asked.

Sango shrugged. "Nah. It's your bet anyway. Why should we be part of the casualties?"

Kagome stood up straight. "You know what? Fine. I will go over there by myself and deal with Mr. Almighty...and Mr. Take Me I'm Yours...and Mr. I'll Grope You Free Of Charge..." Kagome's shoulders slumped more with each description of the boys. "Would you guys pleeeease come?" she begged 

Sango shook her head. "Uh uh. No way. I ain't dealin' with them until I have to. I'm not going to go for a good morning butt grab."

Kagome sighed in resignation. "I'm doomed," she cried, before grabbing her equipment and heading out the door.

Skiing down to the other side of the lodge, Kagome quickly spotted the boys' condo a little ways off. When she reached it two minutes later, she removed her skis and ascended the inside stairs to what she remembered as their room. After knocking impatiently on the door, Kagome heard a dull thud, followed by some yelling and scrambling before the door opened to reveal Miroku in all his morning glory.

Kagome took one look at the boy and burst out laughing. Miroku was wearing a long, flowing, deep violet night gown. This was too much for Kagome and she fell to the ground, clutching at her sides. Miroku shot her a look that clearly told her she wasn't supposed to see him like this.

After Kagome had succeeded in picking herself up off the ground, she turned to Miroku, attempting to suppress her giggles. "Nice dress, Miroku," she managed to get out before succumbing to her laughing fit once again.

"It's not a dress, my dear Kagome," Miroku tried to explain. "Many men wear night gowns; it's not a crime or something to be laughed at," he huffed, crossing his arms.

"Yeah," Kagome snorted. "Real manly men."

"What's all the ruckus?" Kouga asked, coming out of his room to see Kagome on the floor of the hallway, laughing her head off. "Oi, I suppose she saw your dress, eh, Miroku?"

Miroku expression was indignant. "There's no use trying to explain anything to you people, is there?"

"Nope," Kagome said cheerfully, as she stumbled into the condo, still clutching her sides. "By the way, Miroku," she started slyly. "Do you have a night cap to complete the ensemble?"

Kouga chuckled. "It's currently residing on his stuffed bunny, Scruffles."

Kagome stared at him unsure as to whether he was telling the truth or not. "Are you serious?"

In response, Kouga entered the room next to the one he had initially come out of and exited a few minutes later with a fluffy, white, stuffed bunny with a complimentary purple night cap perched atop its head.

It took Kagome a full five minutes to recover from the laugh attack that overcame her at the sight of it.

"Hey, can't a guy get some sleep around here?!" grumbled a annoyed voice from the remaining adjoining room. A few seconds later, Inuyasha exited wearing a white muscle shirt and some loose red sweatpants, his long silver hair flowing freely down his back. Upon seeing Kagome, confusion crossed his features. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I'm here because of the bet," Kagome said shortly, crossing her arms.

"The bet?" Inuyasha asked in confusion.

"You know, where if you topped their jumps," Kagome continued, nodding her head in Kouga and Miroku's direction. "I would have to cook your breakfast for the next three days."

Inuyasha brows furrowed for a moment for understanding dawned on his face. "Oh, that bet," he said, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I'd forgotten all about that."

Kagome blinked. She'd gotten up extra early and came over here to hold up her end of the bet and he hadn't even remembered?! She smacked herself mentally and sighed. Couldn't get out of it now that she had so conveniently reminded him. Oh, how she loathed herself at that moment.

"But, now that I've remembered, I'll take a couple of fried eggs, sunny side up, on some toast with a bit of bacon on the side," Inuyasha ordered.

"Whatever you wish, your highness," Kagome gritted through her teeth. "Anything else?"

"Oh, a glass of orange juice, pulp free," Inuyasha said nonchalantly.

Kagome made no reply, but instead removed all of her ski equipment and began to search through the boys' cupboards for cooking supplies and ingredients. Laying the frying pan on the stove and turning it, she went searching for an apron. She heard Miroku and Kouga find some cereal behind her and begin munching on it as she found an apron in a drawer that had a man standing beside a barbecue filled with charred meat. The bottom of the picture read, "Would you like them done black or dark brown?" Tying it around her neck and waist, she buttered the frying pan and went to retrieve some eggs from the fridge, humming to herself.

After a few minutes of cooking, and feeling Inuyasha's eyes on her the entire time, she finally spun around to confront him. "Why do you keep staring at me?!" she demanded.

Inuyasha looked at her blankly from his perch on his chair. "I don't trust you," he said simply. "I'm making sure you don't poison anything."

Kagome glared at him. "What, do you think I carry rat poison around with me everywhere I go in case I just happen to run into some jerk I have to cook breakfast for?" she fumed.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Anything's possible."

At this point, Kouga and Miroku took the cereal box they had been eating from and quietly sneaked out of the room to escape the inevitable argument. After a few moments of muffled yelling, they heard a few thuds and finally a quick yell of, "The eggs are burning!" This caused sounds of frantic scrambling to ensue, then yelling, screeching and stomping. 

Finally all grew quiet and Kouga and Miroku dared to peek outside of the room they were currently hiding in. They saw Kagome and Inuyasha, back to back, sitting below the sink, panting. In the sink lay the frying pan containing unrecognizable wet yellow and black mush.

Miroku sighed happily. "There's nothing that brings two people closer together than a little, fun, fire-related incident," he said, clasping his hands together.

Inuyasha glared at him before smirking. "You know, Miroku, you're not going to be able to impress Sango much in a dress. A purple dress nonetheless. She might take it completely the wrong way."

Now it was Miroku's turn to glare. "It is not a dress, Inuyasha... though you may have a point," he said, an uneasy expression crossing his features as he made a mad dash for his room.

The three remaining in the room laughed before Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder to look at Kagome out of the corner of his eye. "Alright, time to try again."

Kagome stood up and gave him a deadly look. "Excuse me? You're the reason it got ruined in the first place."

"Me?!" Inuyasha said indignantly. "You were the one doing the cooking."

"I'll cook! For all of us!" Kouga yelled, realising that if he didn't do anything, another fight would ensue.

Kagome and Inuyasha huffed. "Fine," they said simultaneously as they sat down on either end of the kitchen table, pointedly not looking at each other.

When Kouga had finished cooking the eggs, toast and bacon, Miroku finally emerged from his room in black sweatpants and a white long sleeved shirt. The four of them dove into their breakfast, Inuyasha being the first to finish. Yawning, he headed into the bathroom to shower and change. Kouga went to his own room to change since Kagome presumed he had showered last night judging by the silky sheen his hair exhibited.

"Can we go now?" Kagome asked impatiently as Inuyasha and Kouga finally reentered the room completely clothed.

"Yeah, let's go," Inuyasha said, shoving a red toque on his head.

"You guys skiing with us again?" Kouga asked Kagome as he put on his headband.

Kagome shrugged. "I guess so. We do seem to have more fun that way."

Miroku came up to her, his eyes shining brightly. "So you do love us, sweet Kagome," he said blissfully despite Inuyasha and Kouga's warning growls.

Kagome glared at him. "I didn't quite say that, Miroku. Now I suggest you take your hand away before it reaches somewhere off limits. And if you ever try to make a pass at me again, I'm afraid I'll have to tell Sango about your lovely purple dress."

Miroku snatched his hand back immediately with a small, "Eep!" as Inuyasha and Kouga proceeded to laugh at his expense.

Kagome smiled. "Much better. Now let's go."

The group walked down and out of the condo bundled up in all their ski gear and headed towards the gondola. Riding it to the top, they spotted Sango and Ayame not too far away, waiting for them.

Skiing up to them, Kagome shouted, "Please save me from the overwhelming male presence!"

Sango looked at Ayame. "Something tells me that something went wrong."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Ayame responded casually.

"Ooooh, ski hill!" Kagome said like an overly excited child, pointing a nearby run. "Let's go! Pleeeaaase?"

Sango and Ayame shrugged. "Sure, why not?" Ayame said.

Skiing halfway down the mountain and riding a chairlift back to the top, the six companions started off their morning of light skiing and general goofing around. They timed the chairlift ride and then tried to make their actual ski run longer than it; they had a few more snowplow races; they had some snowplow duels involving their poles; and finally, they had a few tuck races. Going in for lunch, the girls ordered poutine as usual while the guys actually changed their orders to burgers or normal french fries.

"You know, too much of that stuff is bad for your health," Inuyasha mentioned to Kagome in passing.

"Health?" Kagome asked, looking at him blankly.

After a few inevitable disputes and seeing Kouga with a chocolate mustache, the group dumped their garbage in the trash and headed back out to the slopes. Deciding to take the gondola since it gave them a more comfortable and somewhat warmer time to talk, they began their trip to the top of the mountain.

"So," Kagome said, trying to start a conversation and picking the first thing that came to mind. "Do you guys have trouble with media reporters often?"

Miroku shrugged. "Depends. Right now they haven't quite figured out that Inuyasha and Kouga have arrived early and don't know where we're staying. It shouldn't stay that way for long though. Once they find us, all mayhem will break loose."

"Is it really that bad?" Ayame asked.

"It's horrible," Inuyasha shuddered. "They follow us around and ask us miscellaneous questions about every aspect of our lives, and they sometimes videotape us when we're practising our skiing techniques. It's damn annoying; especially when they start trying to make up scandals revolving around us where there's absolutely no basis in fact."

"Wow," said Sango. "That sounds like fun..."

"Oh, yeah," Kouga said sarcastically. "It's a blast."

"Could be worse," Kagome shrugged.

"Like how?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Um...uh, well, you see... ahah! What if those 'scandals' were actually true?" Kagome said. "Then what would your life be like? There would probably be even more reporters around you! And then, you'd have to hire bodyguards and chauffeurs and...and...and..."

"Keh. I don't need a stinkin' bodyguard," Inuyasha snorted. "I can take care of myself."

"Oooh, more reporters..." Kouga shuddered. "Horrible image..."

"Well, you can stop thinking about it now," Sango reassured him. "This is our stop."

The little group exited the gondola and headed to a nearby blue square. Skiing partway down, they heard a familiar shout.

"Hey, there they are! Get them!"

Looking behind herself with dread, Kagome spotted the group of snowboarders from the day before leap up onto their boards and start to follow them down the hill. "Ack!" she cried; a cry which was soon echoed by her friends.

"Go, go, go!" Kouga screamed, desperately tucking with the others following.

Racing down to the chairlift which had a thankfully short line, they boarded a few chairs ahead of their pursuers and relaxed momentarily.

"How are we gonna get away from them?" Ayame asked nervously.

"I think you really pissed them off," Kagome added helpfully to the three guys.

"I'm working on it," Inuyasha snapped, looking at the hill below.

Reaching the top after a nervous and fidgeting-filled chairlift ride, the six friends looked around anxiously.

"Okay, I've got an idea," Inuyasha said. "It might go better if we split up."

"Great idea!" Kagome said enthusiastically, agreeing with Inuyasha for once. Needless to say, everyone stopped to stare at her.

Ignoring all of their incredulous looks, Kagome went over and pushed Kouga and Ayame down the closest hill together, thinking of her promise to give the latter 'strategically placed opportunities'. "Hey! Kagome!" they yelled in protest as they began sliding rapidly down the hill.

"Come on!" Kagome urged the others. "Not much time!" She herded Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango to the next hill over and shoved Miroku and Sango down it, shouting, "There ya go, Sango! Consider this my revenge for that black diamond you pushed me down the other day! Have fun with Miroku and play nice!"

She turned back around to see Inuyasha giving her an odd look, not understanding what she was talking about. She glared haughtily back at him until realization struck her. She had trapped herself with him! Great move there, she thought to herself. You're such a genius today!

As she was mentally berating herself, Inuyasha suddenly tugged on her arm. "Come on," he said urgently. "They're coming!"

"Eep!" Kagome squeaked as the snowboarders disembarked from the chairlift and started to move in their direction. "Let's get outta here!" she cried as her and Inuyasha skied for a separate hill from the one Kagome had pushed Ayame and Kouga, and Sango and Miroku down.

They pushed off down the run, looking behind to see the group of snowboarders branch off to follow each of their escape routes. Seeing two of them pick up their trail, Inuyasha and Kagome looked determinedly forward, skiing as fast as they could down the hill with the snowboarders in hot pursuit. 

  
  


A/N What misadventures lie in store for our couples next chapter, when they are scattered but alone with their someday-in-the-future significant other? Betcha can't wait, huh? Oh, and haven't we seen this type of ending before? Looks like these snowboarders hold a grudge... I swear, I have nothing to do with it! *whistles innocently*

Yay, we won our most recent race, and I got second. Woohoo! Alrighty, gotta shut up, get this chapter posted and go to bed now. I hope to hear whatcha guys think! Heehee, talk to ya later! (See ya later doesn't really work, does it?)


	9. Ski Away!

Disclaimer: I forgot to put one of these in my last chapter... no one seemed to notice though; I guess you all automatically assumed that I wasn't the owner of Inuyasha. What was the point of me writing them again, then? I mean if you already know...

A/N Yay! Snow day! Heh heh, I'm glad you liked Miroku's 'dress', Fiery Love. It came to me in a brilliant flash of insight... Miroku's purple robe from the anime... a nice purple night gown that's completely plausible and realistic... Bingo! (My dad wears a night gown...he says it's warmer... Don't ask me, though, he can be a little odd when it comes to certain things.) If you notice, Inuyasha's P.J's kinda matched his outfit from the show, too. But unless I wanted Kouga in a miniskirt (I know, a toga, loincloth, whatever...), I couldn't really work as brilliantly with him. Oh, and sorry, but yeah, the two main snowboarders were Hiten and Yura. I was just trying to get as many fairly main characters in as I could for at least a brief cameo, and since they're evil in the show anyway, I figured... But they're not too bad in this... I mean, this whole fic is just good, clean, wholesome fun! (With some fluff later on of course.)

Alrightly, on with the fic! What lies in store for our heros, heroines and villains in this new and fun-filled chapter? Read on...

  


"Hey! Kagome!!!" Ayame cried in unison with Kouga as Kagome pushed them down the hill. As she sped up, she turned in her skis somewhat to attempt to slow her descent.

Kouga skied up next to her as they were still rocketing down the run. "Don't snowplow!" he shouted. "There's a couple snowboarders coming after us so you're gonna need all the momentum you can get!"

"Momentum?!" Ayame asked nervously. "I don't get along with momentum very well! Our arguments usually result in my face greeting a tree or the nice, cold, snowy ground!"

"Well, then I may have another idea!" Kouga shouted back. "See that bend in the run up ahead?!" When Ayame nodded, he continued, "When we go around that, follow my lead!"

He crouched down a bit, enough to pull him ahead of Ayame. As they approached the turn, Ayame glued her eyes to the back of Kouga in order to imitate whatever action he might take. 

Rounding the curve, Kouga cut sharply to the side, heading straight for the trees at the side of the run. He came to a complete stop as soon as his skis lodged into the thick snow banks at the edge of the hill, and he quickly popped out of them and picked them up. Ayame did her best to copy him, and did so successfully if not smoothly. As soon as she had grabbed her vacant skis, Kouga pulled her into the coverage of the trees and shoved her to the ground next to him, his arm across her shoulders, as they observed the hill.

Not two seconds later, two snowboarders shot past their hiding place and further on down the hill. The pair in the trees let out a sigh of relief simultaneously and relaxed. Standing up, Kouga held out a hand to Ayame to help her up, too. Ayame gladly accepted, realising now why Kagome had shoved her and Kouga down a hill together in the first place.

"Ready to keep going?" Kouga asked her, picking his way back to the groomed hill to put his skis back on.

"Sure am," Ayame said, grinning at him and making a mental note to thank Kagome later. "As long as we don't run into any more homicidal snowboarders out in search of our heads on a platter."

Kouga shrugged. "It's unlikely. I mean, they've probably already gone into the chalet for their between-runs resting period. Their damaged lungs probably can't take more than one run at a time," he added, snorting in laughter at his own joke.

Ayame gave him an odd look. "Right..."

Kouga stopped laughing to look at her. "It's true!" he protested.

"Uh huh..." Ayame said disbelievingly.

"Oh, come on, you found that funny, right?"

"Uh..."

"I can't believe you!" Kouga said, throwing his hands up in the air. "You're impossible! I mean, now I'll have to spend probably the rest of the afternoon alone with a girl who has no sense of humour! If only this mountain weren't so big, it'd be a sinch to find the others..." he trailed off, muttering.

Ayame frantically tried to change his initial impression of her so as not to get off on the wrong foot. "No, no, no! I actually found that joke absolutely and incredibly hilarious! I mean, hahahahahhahahaha! That was so funny!" she said, attempting to make her laughs as realistic as possible.

Kouga eyed her speculatively. "Sure..." he said in an unconvincing tone.

"Oh, forget it," Ayame said darkly.

Kouga shrugged. "Let's go, then."

They skied down to the first chairlift they found, since they didn't feel like going completely down the mountain. There was no line-up and so they were able to share the quad* chairlift alone together.

"So..." Ayame began once they had boarded. "What are some of your favourite things, Kouga?"

Kouga adopted a thoughtful expression.

"Don't hurt yourself or anything," Ayame joked.

Kouga's look vanished as he smirked at her. "Ha ha. But... hmmm... I don't know... I like skiing, obviously, uh... video games... movies-comedy and action mostly... um, animals are cool; especially wolves..."

Ayame's face lit up. "Really? Wolves are my favourite animal, too! They're so neat; I have a ton of books on them."

"Seriously?" Kouga asked with interest. "Did you bring them up with you? I might like to look at them."

"I didn't bring them all up, but I did bring one or two," Ayame offered. "You're welcome to come over sometime and see them."

"That'd be cool," Kouga agreed. "What interests you?"

"Hmmm, well skiing, too, but I'm not nearly as good as you, obviously... I like romantic comedy movies... Oh! I love swimming! I'm actually on my school race team," Ayame said proudly.

"Awesome," Kouga said. "Ever win?"

"But, of course," Ayame responded with false arrogance. She and Kouga shared a laugh. "Well, every now and then," she added afterwards.

Riding a little further up on the chairlift, they spotted the snowboarders who had chased them before once again sitting in the middle of the hill below them.

"See?" Kouga said to Ayame, gesturing towards the snowboarders. "That's what happens to them when they don't go back into the lodge for their in-between-runs rest. They can't quite make it down the hill and they feel the overwhelming urge to clutter up the middle of it while they catch their breath."

This time, Ayame snorted with true laughter and watched as Kouga turned back towards the hill.

"Hey! What'd we tell you about filling up the run with your fat asses?!" Kouga yelled down to the snowboarders.

Ayame tugged on his arm. "Uh, I don't think..."

"Hey!!" cried one of them, who was slightly chubby. He had a dark braid trailing down his back like the snowboarder they had talked to the day before. "I'll tell my brother what you said, and then you'll be in for it!"

Kouga rolled his eyes. "Oh, no! Not your brother! What ever shall I do?! Ayame, save me from the big bad brother!" he said, looking at her imploringly.

Ayame fought hard to keep back her giggles. "Um, you probably shouldn't have done that," she scolded him, but the effect was somewhat lost by the fact she couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face.

"Come on," the snowboarder beside the whiny boy, a girl with a low brown ponytail, said. "Let's go down. We can't catch them by staying here."

"Like you could catch us at all!" Kouga yelled sarcastically as they started down the hill.

"Man, they're going to want to kill us even more, now," Ayame said, slumping back in her seat.

"Well, as I said, they're not going to catch up with us, so there's no reason to worry. I mean, even if they do manage to by mysterious means, they're going to have to get through me to get to you," Kouga offered.

Ayame gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Kouga." Then, with a serious expression, she added, "I'll be sure to give you a proper burial." 

"That's all I ask," Kouga said in an equally sober tone. Then, laughing, he said, "This afternoon might not be so bad after all!"

~*~

"This afternoon is going to be the worst of my entire life!" wailed Sango as she eyed Miroku who looked like his birthday had come early. They had escaped the snowboarders by branching off onto another run and had now arrived at the top of the mountain via the gondola.

"Isn't this great, dear sweet Sango?" Miroku said. "We finally get to spend some quality time alone together!"

Sango groaned. "I'm going to kill Kagome when I get my hands on her! I knew she was going to get me back somehow, but this is just cruel and unusual punishment!"

"May I ask what you did to Kagome?" Miroku asked curiously.

Sango shrugged. "I shoved her down a black diamond as a warm-up run. I mean, that was just a little joke, and it wasn't that bad, but this...! This couldn't get any more horrible!"

Miroku curious expression turned to one of hurt. "Am I really that bad, Sango?"

Sango felt a pang of guilt. "Uh... well, what I meant to say was-" she cut off abruptly when she Miroku's hand found its way to her butt. "Pervert!" she screeched, jumping away. "And, yes, you really are that bad when you do things like that!"

Miroku looked at her suggestively. "So what you're saying is that when I don't do those 'things', I'm not that bad."

Once again, Sango was left speechless. "Uh... I didn't..."

"I knew it!" Miroku crowed. "You do love me!"

"That's not what I said!" Sango snapped.

"It's what you implied," Miroku pressed.

"It's what your perverted mind interpreted," Sango gritted. "Now let's keep skiing before your imagination runs wild."

"Don't think you lost us!" came an angry shout suddenly from behind them.

Turning around, Sango and Miroku spotted the two snowboarders they had thought they had shaken earlier coming quickly towards them. One of them was the initial boy Inuyasha and Kouga had insulted, with the long dark braid, and the other was a girl with long, wavy black hair, and an exotic look about her.

"It could just be me, dear Sango, but now might be an opportune time to flee," Miroku said calmly.

"You know, Miroku?" Sango said conversationally. "I was thinking the same thing."

With that, she pushed off and propelled herself down the nearest hill, Miroku following close behind. About halfway down the hill, Sango caught an edge** in the uneven snow and she soon skidded to a halt. Concerned, Miroku stopped abruptly beside her.

"You alright?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued, "Because we should probably keep going or else they'll catch up to us."

Looking over his shoulder, Sango said, "Too late." The two snowboarders stopped a little below them so as to block their escape path.

Glaring at them with his bright blue eyes, the boy spoke up. "Don't feel so confident now, do ya?"

"I beg to differ," Miroku said. "I'm feeling very confident."

Sango turned to look at him in disbelief. "You are? About what?"

Miroku shrugged. "Lots of things. Like how the sun will rise in the east tomorrow, how the world is round, how Inuyasha and Kouga will win top places in the competition next week, and how these losers couldn't trap or harm us even if our feet were chained to the ground."

"Real funny, smart ass," the girl said in a voice devoid of emotion as she flipped some of her hair over her shoulder.

"I thought so," Miroku responded.

"How exactly do you expect to get away from us?" growled the boy.

"I think they're bluffing, Hiten," his female companion said neutrally.

"Oh, but are we?" Miroku asked rhetorically. "Because it seems to me that you'd have a hard time stopping us if we decided to leave. What do you say, Sango? Have you had enough of this?"

Sango nodded and started to push off after Miroku who had already begun speeding down past the snowboarders. As she began to pass them as well, the girl reached out and grabbed one of her poles, effectively halting her descent. Frantically, Sango lashed out and whacked the girl's arm with her other pole. Letting go of the pole she had been grasping with a cry, the girl sunk to the ground, cradling her arm. Tears welling up in her eyes, she turned and looked imploringly at Hiten.

As Hiten went to see if she was alright, Sango rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, I didn't hit you that hard. You are so faking it to get his attention."

Without Hiten seeing, the girl shot Sango a dark glare that sent shivers down her spine. Regardless, Sango was never one to be intimated and so stood her ground.

"Well, you are! You're so obvious; I can read you like a book," she continued, not noticing how furious the girl was becoming. "It's not like it's even original. I mean, hundreds of girls have used the same trick!"

"Rrrgh, I'll get you!" the girl screeched, getting up and starting to come down the hill at Sango, leaving a confused Hiten behind.

Sango, finally noticing the effect of her words, let out a brief yell before tucking and racing after Miroku. "Mirokuuuu! Heeeeelp!"

Skidding to a halt at the bottom of the run and flinging snow up at a waiting Miroku, Sango panted heavily. Grabbing a snowy Miroku's arm, she pulled him to the boarding area, babbling her head off. "They're coming, oooh, they're coming, and she is so pissed! Help me, Miroku, she wants to kill me! Gotta get away!" she kept mumbling as they hopped on a scant chairlift ahead of the girl and her companion, Hiten.

"I will of course help you, my sweet Sango," Miroku replied gallantly as he draped his arm across her shoulders. "In any way, shape or form," he finished, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Snapping out of her frantic state, Sango pushed Miroku abruptly away from her, muttering, "Pervert. You're never serious, are you?"

"Being serious all the time makes you miss out on all the fun things in life," Miroku said wisely. "I mean, would you rather live serious and miserable or carefree and happy?"

"Um, option B?" Sango answered hesitantly.

"Exactly!" Miroku exclaimed. "That way you have no worries and you're infinitely happier."

"I guess so..." Sango said. "But you do need to be serious some times. Some situations demand it."

"Undoubtably," Miroku agreed. "But now is not one of them. They're only snowboarders, not the apocalypse."

"Hmmm, I guess you're right..." Sango said thoughtfully. "So this is actually more like a game; a not-entirely-friendly game."

"If it pleases my Sango to think of it as such," Miroku said. "I know you're probably worried about being caught, but if it makes you feel better, Inuyasha, Kouga and I have never been caught before."

Sango nodded for a moment before the meaning of his words sunk in. "Wait a minute. You've done this to snowboarders before?!"

Miroku suddenly assumed a nervous expression. "Uh, maybe once or twice... What's it to ya?"

"Is that how you get your kicks?" Sango demanded. "Do you do it at every hill?"

"Maybe..."

Sango gave him a flat look. "I can't believe you."

"You still love me, right?" he asked innocently.

"In order for me to still love you, there would have had to be some love present in the first place," Sango said.

"Ouch," Miroku said, clutching at his heart. "You wound me, Sango. You truly wound me."

Sango rolled her eyes. "Get over yourself. Meanwhile, the snowboarders are on the chairlift directly behind us. We're going to have to think of someway to get away from them."

"Never fear, dear Sango," Miroku said. "For they will have to take time to buckle themselves into their boards before they can come after us, which will give us a chance to escape."

"Hope it's enough time," Sango muttered.

When they reached the end of the chairlift ride, they skied as fast as they could to and down the closest hill. Not looking back, they trusted their head start would be enough.

~*~

"Faster!"

"I can't!" shouted Kagome at Inuyasha who was urging her to quicken her pace. "I just can't ski any faster!"

"Man, you really need some lessons!" Inuyasha called back.

"Excuse me?!" cried Kagome. "Are you saying I can't ski?!"

"Not very well!"

"Why you-!"

"Hurry up, slow ass!"

"Inuyasha, you get back here right now!" Kagome screeched, crouching down and finding a sudden burst of speed.

As Kagome came in line with the arrogant racer, he flashed her a grin. "Much better!" he called.

He insulted her just to get her to go faster? "You jerk!" Kagome yelled back, though only half-heartedly.

"As long as I'm keeping up my reputation!" Inuyasha shouted casually, as if they weren't in the middle of a high-speed chase. He chanced a look back at the three snowboarders on their tail. "They're gaining on us! Follow me!"

Inuyasha turned into a little trail at the side of the run, Kagome and the snowboarders following. Inuyasha and Kagome took all the twists and turns through the trail, but it was clearly not designed for snowboarders and their pursuers soon either were stopped by tree roots or the thick snow banks they ran into when they weren't fast enough to turn. Emerging from the trail, Inuyasha and Kagome branched off onto yet another run in the hopes that the snowboarders wouldn't know which way they had gone.

Still desperately skiing, Kagome lost control of her movements and her skis shot out from under her. She rolled and flipped a few times down the hill until she stopped by landing upside down at the base of a tree.

When she was finally able to open and focus her eyes, she saw a laughing Inuyasha who had stopped directly in front of her.

Kagome growled. "Yeah, you're laughing now," she said as she whacked the backs of his knees with one of her poles. His knees automatically bent and he landed on the backs of his skis. With his weight further back, he began to gain momentum and slide down the hill.

"Kagome!" he yelled in irritation.

Picking herself back up and gathering her strewn equipment as Inuyasha brought himself to a halt, Kagome called, "That's what you get, jerk!"

As Kagome skied down to where an impatient Inuyasha waited, he said, "If it wasn't for me, you would have been caught by those snowboarders. And this is the thanks I get."

"If it wasn't for you," Kagome said, poking him in the chest with her pole, "They wouldn't have been coming after us in the first place!" With that, she pushed off with her poles and skied down the rest of the hill.

Inuyasha grumbled and followed her down to the double*** chairlift. Once there, he said, "But life would be awfully boring if there's was no excitement to spice things up."

Kagome glared at him. "I hardly think that irritating snowboarders is a good way to find la joie de vie. You can ride this chairlift by yourself, pal."

"Fine, then," Inuyasha shot back. "Maybe I will."

"You do that," Kagome said, turning back around to await her turn to board.

Looking around, Inuyasha spotted the three snowboarders from earlier, the girl who had spoken to them yesterday and two other boys, coming down the hill towards their chairlift. Seeing there was no line up behind them and that their nemeses were fast approaching, Inuyasha skied up to Kagome who was preparing to get on the next chairlift.

He grabbed Kagome around the waist, resulting with a squeak from her, and pulled her more quickly towards the chairlift. They boarded it, Kagome shooting Inuyasha a glare. "I thought you were taking a separate chair."

In response, Inuyasha shoved his thumb behind them indicating the snowboarders who were following them up the chairlift.

"Oh," Kagome mumbled. "Great..."

"Hey, pretty boy!" called the girl with the red headband securing her short black hair. "Why don't you let us catch up with you? Then we could have some real fun; especially with that pretty silver hair of yours," she said, grinning malevolently.

Inuyasha lifted his goggles off of his face to rest them atop his head and turned to face them. "Hmmm, let me think about it... uh, no."

"Oh, my god!" cried the boy sitting beside her, looking as if he were about to faint. "It's Inuyasha! I'm like your biggest fan!"

The girl smacked the boy upside the head. "Idiot! You're not supposed to worship him! We're trying to make him pay for what he said yesterday, not devising ways of licking his boots!"

"B-but it's true!" the boy protested. "He's so amazing! Hey, Inuyasha, can I get your autograph?!"

"Shut up!" the other boy, who was alone on the chairlift behind them, shouted.

Inuyasha blinked. "Uhhh... This is unexpected..."

He turned back around when he heard a giggle beside him. "Something funny, Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head as she tried desperately to suppress her giggles.

"Really? I suppose you're shaking from the cold, then?" Inuyasha asked in a playful tone.

Kagome looked up only to be trapped by Inuyasha's intense golden gaze. As if his eyes compelled her, she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard, she clutched at her sides and leaned on the surprised boy for support. "You-you've got a-a fanboy!" She managed to get out between giggles.

"A what?!" Inuyasha squeaked.

"A-a fanboy!" Kagome repeated, tears of mirth forming in her eyes.

"H-hey, stop it! I do not!" Inuyasha protested.

But Kagome found the concept so funny, she continued laughing her head off until they reached the end of their ride. Inuyasha had to drag her up and away from the lift, supporting her all the way to next hill. "Oi, Kagome, they're going to catch us if you don't snap out of it!"

"Oookay, I'm good now," Kagome said, a few giggles escaping her here and there.

"Then let's go!" he said, diving down the run.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Kagome called, making sure the snowboarders were delayed by buckling themselves into their boards before shooting down after him.

Inuyasha immediately led Kagome through a path to the next hill so the snowboarders would be unable to see where they had gone. He then slowed down in the middle of it and waited for Kagome. When she stopped beside him, he said, "Okay, I've decided you desperately need some ski lessons so I'm going to instruct you myself."

"How generous of you," Kagome said in a dry voice.

"Isn't it? Now, the first thing we're going to do is something I mentioned earlier; rolling your ankles." When Kagome nodded, he continued. "We'll just do it on this gentle slope here. Just go straight and then try to roll your ankles back and forth," he instructed before pushing a little ways ahead of her to demonstrate. Stopping a bit further down, he turned and said, "Now your turn."

Kagome pushed off gently and tried to imitate Inuyasha as best she could. She felt off balance and she could do it better on one side than the other. Finally stopping near Inuyasha, she winced, expecting him to berate her.

"Pretty good," Inuyasha said slowly. "I think you'll just have to practice that a bit more before we try anything else. You'll know when you've got it perfected; it'll feel natural and you'll be in complete control. Practice on every gentle incline we come across and when you feel confident with it, tell me, okay? We'll advance from there."

Kagome nodded, struck dumb at his sudden kindness. It surprised her, but it also made her want to perfect the technique in order to gain his approval.

"Okay, keep that in mind, and let's continue on," Inuyasha said, looking up the next hill to make sure no skiers or snowboarders were coming down before pushing off and practically flowing down it.

Kagome watched in awe as all his movements seemed to meld together in a flawless pattern as he swayed back and forth down the run. He was amazing in his ability to ski and he had just demonstrated some kindness towards her a moment ago. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all...maybe.

  


*A quad chairlift is a chairlift built for four people. Makes sense, doesn't it?

**Catching an edge refers to your ski edge catching in the snow and usually resulting with you falling or losing control.

***A double chairlift is...dun, dun, dun... a chairlift built for two people! Didn't see that coming, did ya?

  


A/N Yay, this seven and a half page chapter is finished! I meant to get it out yesterday, but it wasn't quite done.

Okay, now it's time to play a little guessing game! The snowboarders are all characters from the anime, so it's up to you to figure out who they are before I post the next chapter. There's seven in all and I've named Hiten and Yura. The two unnamed girls aren't really bad guys (you don't really know whether the second one is evil or not), but the rest are. I didn't really describe the second boy who was with Yura, but let's just say he's associated with the first. Alright, that's enough clues, time to cast your bids!

Oh, and Beautiful-Stranger01, thankies muchos for you know what! It's crazy how some people can think so alike and I think miraculous coincidences are ingrained into my schedule... yep, I've got one scheduled for 10:00 tomorrow morning! ^_~

Anyways, hope you guys liked this chapter, and there'll be more adventures with the couples next chapter (this one was getting too long)! I'll try to get it out as soon as possible! Talk to ya later!

  



	10. People Pile

Disclaimer: Alright! I confess! I don't own Inuyasha! ...Do you think Rumiko Takahashi would agree to a time share?

A/N Alrighty, the results of the guessing game and who all the snowboarders really are! eX Driver Liz, you guessed Jakotsu as the fanboy and you were...correct! 

Sleepwalking chicken and HAP, despite your professed inability to play guessing games, you guessed Nazuna as one of the girls and you were correct! (It was the first girl with the low brown ponytail.) 

Although, as you say, Calum the Angel, she is highly unimportant, yes, the chick with Hiten was the girl Hiten charred to death the first time you see him. She was never given a name, so I'll give one to her. (I know that one was a little obscure, guys; way to go, Calum!)

And, again, Calum, you guessed correct about Manten being the one with Nazuna!

Finally, the last snowboarder, who nobody even attempted at guessing (^_~), and who was ridiculously obscure, was Bankotsu! He's associated with Jakotsu in future episodes so many of you probably haven't seen them before (heck, I haven't even seen them; I only know about them from spoilers! ^_~). Apparently, Jakotsu's gay and in love with Inuyasha, or something on the show; he won't be in this, but I will make him an obsessed fan.

Many of you guessed either Kagura and Kanna, but remember, they're two of the top female ski racers (not that skiers can't snowboard too, but Inu, Kouga and Miroku probably would have known who they were.).

Badminton, eh, Fiery Love? Hmmm...could be kinda cool. Go for it!

And, for an explanation on poutine, liLgAnGsTAKiKyO44, refer to my first A/N in chapter eight.

Okey, Dokey, I think that's everything... On with the fic! 

"Okay, where to now?" Sango whispered to Miroku as they hid behind some trees and watched their pursuers board the chairlift.

"Oh, I really don't think we need to go anywhere, my dear lady," Miroku said in a low voice. "I mean, it's nice and cozy right here." That said, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer towards him.

Sango eyebrows lowered and she pursed her lips. "Miroku..." she said in a warning tone.

"Yes, lovely Sango?" Miroku asked innocently.

"Mind telling me what you're doing?" Sango said in slow, deliberate tones.

"Um... keeping warm?" he asked hopefully.

"Really? Being perverted wouldn't have anything do with it also, would it?" she said, turning slightly to glare at him.

"What a thing to cross your mind!" Miroku said in a shocked voice. "How could you ever suspect me of such a thing? My intentions are purely honourable."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Sango muttered, pushing herself out of his reach and towards the chairlift. She was thoroughly surprised he hadn't tried anything more, but was sure it was just a matter of time. If she had stayed in his embrace for just one second longer...

She shook her head and set her sights upon the chairlift ahead. The guy was a total pervert and didn't have an honourable bone in his body. Heck if she was going to be the one to test out his resilience!

"Wait for me, Sango!" Miroku called as he hastened to catch up with her.

"Hurry up, Miroku," Sango said, waiting impatiently for him in the chairlift line.

"Don't worry, don't fear, Miroku is here!" he said, sliding up beside her.

She rolled her eyes. "Since I wasn't worrying or fearing, does that mean you still have to be here?" she asked dryly.

"Again, Sango, you do me an injustice," Miroku said. "I'm only looking out for your well-being."

"You might try looking elsewhere. I think it ran away as soon as you came up beside me," Sango said jokingly.

"Really?" Miroku said, as if taking her seriously. "What a dastardly thing for it to have done. Do you think we might find it on the chairlift?" he said, indicating the chair which they were about to board.

"Perhaps," Sango said thoughtfully. "But maybe I should go alone; I wouldn't want it to be scared off again, or anything."

"Nonsense," Miroku said, completely serious. "I must right the great wrong I have committed. Onwards, my dear lady; we shall find your missing well-being."

Sango couldn't help but let out a small giggle before sitting down beside Miroku on the chairlift.

"Oooookay... I spy something that is white," Kouga said in a bored voice.

Ayame gave him a flat look. "Gee... let me think about it... oh, this is a tough one. Could it possibly be, oh, I dunno, snow?!"

Kouga shot her a feigned surprised look. "How'd you know?"

Ayame shrugged. "Wild guess."

They were stuck in an incredibly long chairlift line that moved about a centimetre a minute, and that they just so happened to be at the back of. After ten minutes of waiting, they had finally resorted to playing I Spy out of sheer boredom.

"I spy something that is brown," Ayame continued on with the game.

"The trees," Kouga replied automatically.

"Oh, you're good," Ayame said in mock awe. "Only professional I Spy players can advance to a level this high."

Kouga took a small bow. "What can I say? It takes talent."

"Mr. Kouga, sir," Ayame said, pushing invisible glasses up the bridge of her nose and holding out an imaginary microphone. "How do you feel about your most recent accomplishment?"

Instead of playing along, Kouga shuddered and moved as far away from Ayame as the cramped chairlift line would let him. "Gah! Reporter!"

Ayame straightened, dropping the reporter façade and giving him a questioning look. "You got a phobia or something?"

"N-no," Kouga responded, moving back towards her. "Just a very, very great fear."

Ayame gave him a funny look. "Right... I see the difference..."

"Oooo, the line's speeding up!" Kouga said excitedly. Their branch of the line had merged with another one, pairing them up with an old couple, and hastening their route to the chairlift. Kouga looked speculatively at the couple they'd be sharing their chairlift for a moment before whispering to Ayame, "When we get on, just follow my lead, okay?"

In the dark as to what was going on inside Kouga's head, Ayame just nodded, trusting it wouldn't be too bad.

When they were finally able to hop on the chairlift, Kouga winked at Ayame before resting his head on her shoulder. Ayame blushed a bright red which was indiscernible through her windblown cheeks, but reminded herself this was an act.

"Oh, Ayame!" Kouga moaned. "What am I going to do?!"

The old couple looked at each other before looking over critically at the young pair.

"Shhhh," Ayame hushed, taking off her glove. She wrapped her arm around his head and started stroking his glossy hair soothingly. "What have the voices been telling you this time?" 

The old man and woman beside them adopted alarmed expressions, but continued watching in silence.

"They won't go away, Ayame! They keep pestering me and telling me I shouldn't let all those bullies at school get away with saying those means things to me. They say they're devils from the underworld and that I should exterminate them before they turn on me! Every time I see a knife, I can't help but yearn for it, and every time I see a drop of blood, I wish it had been split by my hand!" Kouga finished his rant dramatically.

By this time, the old couple were edging as far away from the 'disturbed' teenager as they could get.

Wow, Ayame thought. Kouga can think up some pretty morbid things when he puts his mind to it... but it's worth it to look at the expressions on that couples faces; even if it is a bit immoral...

"It'll be alright, Kouga," Ayame cooed, trying to ignore the softness of his hair. "But just tell me this; it's very important. Did you take your medication this morning?"

"N-no..." Kouga said slowly. "Is that a bad thing? I mean, Jimmy told me not to, and you know Jimmy's the smartest of all the quintuplets."

Ayame shook her head. "Kouga, what have I told you? There are no quintuplets; they're only some of the voices you hear in your head. You shouldn't listen to them," she chided gently. "But do you think you can make it through the day without giving in to your homicidal tendencies? If you do, I'll make you a nice big mug of hot chocolate!"

"Really?!" Kouga asked excitedly. "Okay, I promise I'll try to not go demon hunting until tomorrow!"

The man and woman beside them were now visibly shaking and glancing nervously at one another.

"Tomorrow, you'll have taken your medication and won't need to go demon hunting," Ayame reminded him sternly, all the while wondering how much longer she'd be able to keep a straight face.

"But I don't want to hurt Jimmy's feelings..."

And so it continued, all the way up the chairlift, as Kouga kept ranting about voices, demons and killing, and the aging couple beside them became paler and paler, and closer and closer to having heart attacks.

When they finally disembarked, the old man and woman shot out of the chair and skied away from so fast it seemed they had regained the vitality of youth.

"Wonder what appointment they missed?" Ayame muttered before turning back to Kouga.

One look at each other was all it took for them both to burst out laughing. "That was classic!" Kouga gasped, clapping Ayame on the back and knocking the wind out of her.

"Totally!" Ayame said when she recovered her breath. "Beautifully executed with such rare excellence, it deserves no less than a ten across the board!"

Kouga grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Undoubtably. Now, let's go see what other fun we can conjure up on this mountain..."

"Okay, I think you've pretty much got it now," Inuyasha said. "Time to test it out on a true hill," he added as he gave Kagome a strong push to start her off down the run they had been standing at the top of.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as she flew off down the hill.

"Roll your ankles!" Inuyasha shouted down after her.

"Easy for you to say!" Kagome yelled back as she flew down the hill. 

Despite her protest, however, she rolled her ankles as she had been practising all afternoon. Almost immediately, her skis bit into the hill and carried her around a turn. Not prepared for the unexpected action, Kagome's skis flew out from under her and she fell and slid partway down the hill for the second time that day.

Picking herself up, she found Inuyasha already stopped a little below her and looking at her thoughtfully. "You're sitting back on your skis. You've got to get forward more so your skis don't shoot off without you, like they did just now."

"Rrgh, it's so hard to try and think of all these technical things as I go down!" Kagome whined. "There's too many!"

"I can easily give you some more to think about," Inuyasha responded. "Trust me, what I'm giving you now are just the basics. You can try and use them to improve or give up now."

Kagome glared at him. "Of course I'm not giving up! I'm just protesting at the injustice of it all. You got a problem with that?"

"When you start to get all moody, yeah," Inuyasha shot back.

"Does it look like I'm moody to you?!" Kagome practically screeched in his face. Realising what see had just done, she stepped back and flushed with embarrassment. "Heh, heh... sorry... um, what were you saying again?"

Inuyasha shook his head, clearly having no clue as to what was going on inside her head. "Stay forward, keep your hands up and forward, and roll your ankles. Go."

Kagome started down again, this time keeping all of Inuyasha's instructions in mind. When she rolled her ankles, she made sure she could feel her shins at the front of her ski boots and therefore, was prepared for when her skis swung her around a turn. Advancing further down the hill that way, she felt more relaxed and began to recognize the exhilarating feeling she got at every turn. Reaching the bottom, she waited eagerly near the chairlift for Inuyasha to descend.

When he did and they had boarded the chairlift together, Kagome turned to him. "Did you see me? Did ya? Huh? Huh?!" she asked excitedly like a six- year old.

Inuyasha grinned at her antics. "Sorry, I missed it."

"You what?!"

"Joking! I'm just joking!" Inuyasha said, still grinning as he held up his hands in defence. As Kagome began to cool down, he went on, "You're really starting to get the hang of it now. I can see you carving and that you're feeling it now instead of forcing it."

Kagome smiled widely at him.

"'Course you never could've come this far so quickly if you didn't have such a great instructor," Inuyasha added.

Kagome's smile wavered.

"Well, it's true," Inuyasha said.

"Darn you," Kagome muttered, not able to come up with any witty comeback. Looking back at the mountain and watching skiers go down for a few minutes, she spoke up again, "Inuyasha, when did you start racing?"

Inuyasha shrugged beside her. "Ever since I could. I joined some rookie team when I was just a little kid and then moved up the ranks from there."

Kagome giggled.

"What are you laughing at now? There another 'fanboy' behind me or something?" Inuyasha asked in slight irritation.

Kagome giggled some more at the memory, but shook her head. "I just think you'd make a cute little kid, that's all."

Inuyasha blushed slightly. "R-really? And what makes you say that?"

It was Kagome's turn to blush. "Oh, uh, I dunno. Just a gut feeling, I guess." Then, she smirked. "Yup, a cute little kid... But look how you turned out... I mean, what went wrong?"

"And, what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, we'll start out with what you thought it was supposed to mean, and then we'll go from there. I mean, we wouldn't want to overwork this poor thing, now, would we?" Kagome asked innocently while knocking on Inuyasha's head.

"Do you mind?!" Inuyasha asked slowly, staring straight ahead with his arms crossed.

"Not at all," Kagome said cheerfully, continuing to knock on his head. "It's my pleasure."

"Oi, I can't believe I've had to put up with you for the whole afternoon..."

~*~

"What about this hill?" Sango asked Miroku as she indicated a blue square.

Miroku shrugged. "Fine by me."

"I'm going down first!" Sango warned as she pushed off and flew down the hill. She smiled and sighed in contentment as she felt the wind blow through her hair and the sun kiss her cheeks.

Halfway down, when the hill merged with another, Sango saw only a blur before she collided with someone and went tumbling down the hill, all tangled up with them.

Behind her, Miroku sped up to make sure the two were alright and had almost reached them when he, too, saw a blur and collided with it. Him and the other individual slid down the hill until they both hit Sango and her falling partner, creating a large people pile. Silence overtook the group for an instant, and then...

"Ow..."

"What happened?"

"Is everyone alright?"

"Sango?!"

"Ayame?!"

"Kouga?!"

"Pervert!"

"Miroku!!"

"Sorry, couldn't help it!"

"Save it, lech!"

"I can't get up!"

"I'm stuck too!"

"What a wipe out..."

"Sango, I've got a boo-boo. Will you kiss it better?"

"Get off of me!"

"My head..."

"You ok?"

"What about me? I'm hurt too!"

"Sorry... you ok, too?"

"I think so..."

"This is insane..."

"Why haven't you gotten off of me yet?!"

"Hurry it up, up there! I'm squished on the bottom!"

"Trying!"

"Well, well, what have we got here?"

Everyone trapped in the people pile twisted and strained to see Inuyasha and Kagome above them on the hill, desperately trying not to burst out laughing.

"HELP!" screamed four voices at once.

"Oh, I don't know," Inuyasha said thoughtfully. "You seem to be doing such a fine job by yourselves. What do you think, Kagome?"

Kagome nodded her head vigorously. "Oh, definitely. I mean, if we tried to help now, I think we might mess up their master plan to escape unscathed. We'd better let them figure it out for themselves because I doubt we'd be of any help."

"Just what I was thinking," Inuyasha agreed. "Ready to call it a day?"

"I think so."

"Perfect. Let's go in, then."

And with that, Inuyasha and Kagome skied slowly around the mass consisting of their friends and down the hill towards the boys' condo.

"You guys better get back here this instant! Inuyasha?! Kagome?! Get back heeeeeere!"

~*~

"We're so dead."

"Best not to dwell on it. Popcorn?" Inuyasha asked, holding out the popcorn bowl to Kagome.

"Sure," she said, grabbing a handful.

After deserting their friends, they had skied down to the boys' condo. There they had popped some popcorn they could eat as they waited patiently for their ticked off companions.

The loud banging of a door announced the entrance of snowy friends.

"Kagome...!"

"Inuyasha...!"

"Eep!" Kagome squeaked as she jumped up and ran around to hide behind Inuyasha.

"Oh, thanks," he said sarcastically, turning his head to glare at her from the corner of his eye. "Let me take all the blame."

"Heh, heh..." Kagome smiled weakly at him.

"You guys are so dead!"

"Told you so!" Kagome said, poking Inuyasha in the ribs.

"Hey, stop that! How can I defend myself against them if I'm getting assaulted by you at the same time?" Inuyasha asked, irritated.

"Get them!"

A few minutes and bruises later, everyone was once again piled in a tangled heap, Inuyasha and Kagome included.

"Ow..."

"Everyone alright?"

"Not this again."

"Mind moving?!"

"Too tired. Can't."

"This is not fun."

"Now you know what it feels like."

"How would you feel if one of your best friends brushed you off and left you like this?"

"Point taken."

"Pain! Get off me!"

"Too comfy. Can't I stay?"

"Miroku..."

"Fine..."

"Stupid pervert..."

"You guys aren't light, you know!"

"If we could move, we would!"

"Try harder!"

"How ironic is this? You guys come to beat us up for leaving you in a people pile, and then you end up in another one. I'd say it backfired."

"At least you're trapped in it, too, this time."

"Move!"

"Fine. One, two, three, heave!"

"Ahhh!"

"Owww!"

"Uhhhnnnn..."

"You dead?"

"More so."

"Oi..."

A/N Boy, that was fun to write! I simply love Inuyasha as a little kid, don't you? So adorable! ^-^ Well, that's all for now, talk to ya later! (The shortest A/N I've ever written) ^_~


	11. Hot and Sticky

Disclaimer: I can't say I own Inuyasha...Can you? Didn't think so.

A/N *Throws confetti in the air and does a happy dance.* Over 100 reviews by my 10th chapter! Woohoo!! Congrats to gansta-girl for being my 100th reviewer! Yay! *Wipes a tear from eye* You guys make me feel so loved! I'm so glad you're all liking it so much and so here's a new chapter for you to enjoy!

Okay, Fiery Love, here's a few answers to your questions. Actually, I'd like to point out to everybody that this chapter starts in the morning of Wednesday. The girls were talking in the first chapter on Thursday, and they drove up in the second chapter on Friday (they either skipped school or had an N.I/P.A day that day, like we're having this year! ^_^). Saturday was spent on their first day skiing and talking to Myouga. Sunday was when Kagome got food poisoning and then was rescued by Inuyasha (aww...) later that night. Monday was their first day skiing together with the boys and ticking the snowboarders off. Then Tuesday was the last three chapters where they all got split up and chased by the snowboarders. Now we are onto Wednesday. Whew... that was long... Anyways, the tournament is happening the next week and I'll tell you why Miroku isn't a racer sometime in the next few chapters.

Lastly, Nazuna isn't from the movie; she appears in the thirteenth episode with the spiderheads; the one where Inuyasha first transforms into a full human under the new moon.

Okay, enough of my babbling; here's the next chapter! 

* * *

"I'm not going over there!" Kagome protested loudly.

"It was your bet, remember?" Sango asked smugly.

"I don't care about the bet! He didn't even remember it himself yesterday! Besides, Kouga ended up cooking anyway..." Kagome muttered.

"Kagome, you have to go over. You can't just back down," Ayame said.

"I'm not backing down. I'm defying. There's a difference."

"If there is, I'm not seeing it," Sango said, scratching the back of her head in confusion. "Oh, well, c'mon, Ayame. We'll go over and tell the boys how Kagome's gonna be a no-show."

"You sure, Kagome?" Ayame pressed for one last time. "I mean, your refusing is sure to lead to another fight between you and Inuyasha. And, to think, you two were getting along so well together yesterday."

"Ayame, are you trying to imply something? 'Cause if you are, I can think of many ways of making you regret it," Kagome threatened. "And most of them involve a certain someone named Kouga."

"Ah, no, Kagome; I wasn't trying to imply anything. Ready to go, Sango?" Ayame responded hastily.

"See ya on the slopes, Kagome! And be prepared to face a certain something named Inuyasha's wrath!" Sango called as they shut the door on their way out.

Clipping themselves into their skis, Sango and Ayame skied over to the boys condo in record time. Climbing up the stairs to their condo, they knocked on the door. After only a brief moment, the door was opened by Inuyasha, fully dressed and ready for the day. He motioned them in and closed the door behind them. Distantly, they heard the shower running.

"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded as soon as they had sat down on the couch. "Isn't she supposed to cook my breakfast?"

"Ah, yes, well... see, about that..." Sango started off, trying to think of some way to tell him. Instead, she found a way to delay him. "Well, where's Miroku?"

Inuyasha smirked at her. "Just Miroku? You don't want to know where Kouga is as well?"

"Uh... heh, heh, heh... Where's Miroku AND Kouga?" Sango said, amending her previous question.

Inuyasha shoved his thumb in the direction of the washroom. "Kouga's in the shower and Miroku followed the room service girl after she delivered breakfast for him and Kouga."

Sango's curious expression immediately darkened and she crossed her arms and glared off in another direction. "Pervert..." she muttered.

"Now where's Kagome?" Inuyasha asked again.

"Her Ladyship declines and refuses to come serve His Majesty," Ayame said in a highly dignified voice.

"What?! Refuses?!" Inuyasha burst out. "I go teach her a thing or two... What's your condo number?"

"Uh, 214," Sango responded.

Grabbing his jacket and tightening his already applied ski boots, Inuyasha walked over to the bathroom door. "I'm going out for a minute, Kouga! I'll be right back!" he yelled over the shower's running water. With that, he grabbed his skis and stomped out of the condo slamming the door shut.

Sango and Ayame looked at each other on the couch. "Ummm..." Ayame started. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"I dunno," Sango answered. "Wait 'till he gets back, I suppose..." she trailed off and looked around the fairly spacious room.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable near-silence, the phone rang from the table beside the couch, startling them.

Staring at it, Ayame spoke up, "Ummm... I don't think we should get that..."

As the phone rang a second time, they heard the shower abruptly turn off, followed by some hasty scrambling. A second later, a very wet Kouga, sporting nothing more than a towel around his waist, ran out of the bathroom and to the phone. "Uh, hel-ahhh!" Kouga screeched in the middle of his greeting, finally spotting the two girls sitting on the couch and staring at him wide-eyed. His surprise caused him to jump and almost lose his towel. With a yelp, he recovered it just in time.

Ayame blushed darkly at his wet, nude and muscular upper body and she looked away as if she had seen something she shouldn't have. Sango, on the other hand, saw how Kouga's cheeks were becoming equally red from embarrassment and decided to tease him a little.

"Whoo, you go, Kouga!" she yelled grinning evilly at him.

Desperately trying to ignore her, Kouga once again turned his attention to the phone he was still holding. "Um, uh, h-hello?"

After a brief pause, "M-mother?!"

At this Sango and Ayame both burst out laughing as Kouga tried desperately to silence them while holding the phone in one hand and his towel in the other.

"No, mother," Kouga continued the phone conversation. "That was nothing. I'm here alone. Inuyasha and Miroku are out for the moment.

"N-no! There are no girls in the condo. I'm here all by my lonesome self. It was just the TV."

Sango and Ayame giggled from their place on the couch.

"Mother!!" Kouga suddenly cried in a highly shocked and scandalized voice. "How could you think that?! I told you, there's no girls here! There was no giggling!" To Sango and Ayame, Kouga made a cutting motion across his neck.

This caused Sango and Ayame to laugh even harder and Kouga henceforth to become more frantic. "Um, I think I'll have to call you back, mom. See ya!" he said, shoving the phone down with a click. "What are you guys doing here?!" he burst out as soon as the phone had gone dead.

Between her giggles, Sango managed to get out, "We came to tell Inuyasha that Kagome refused to come cook for him, and he left us here to go 'teach her a thing or two'. Then the phone rang and you-you...you...!"

"That was hilarious!" Ayame gasped. "Absolutely classic!"

As Kouga blushed a darker red, Sango wolf-whistled just for effect. At the exact same moment, however, the door opened and Miroku entered. Seeing Sango cheer a half naked Kouga on, his face assumed a shocked expression.

"Kouga! Are you trying to steal my girl?!"

Sango abruptly stopped halfway through her laugh and turned to glare at the perverted skier. "YOUR girl?!" she demanded. "Where exactly did you get that idea?"

"Uh... eh, heh, heh..." Miroku laughed nervously at the death look she was shooting his way.

"And even if I WERE your girl," Sango continued on, "How do you think you have any right to say that about me after you supposedly ran off after the room service girl?!"

"Dude, is that were you went?" Kouga spoke up.

"As much as we're enjoying the view, Kouga, are you ever going to go put some pants on?" Ayame asked the boy who was still dripping wet in the middle of the room.

"Speak for yourself, Ayame," Miroku muttered. "I don't swing that way. My eyes are only for Sango."

Sango rolled her eyes and scoffed. "And any other pretty girl who happens to cross your path."

"No, no," Miroku said in a rushed voice. "My eyes are only for you, my dear Sango. My hands, on the other hand..."

"Okay, I'm going to go get dressed now," Kouga cut in. "I think I've had enough public embarrassment for one day so, please; no one walk in on me?"

"Don't worry," Sango said, her good mood returning instantly. "You only have to worry about Ayame anyway."

As Ayame smacked Sango upside the head, Kouga ran for his room, his expression indiscernible.

* * *

Kagome didn't look up as she heard the door of the condo open and close, assuming Sango and Ayame had returned before heading out on the slopes. Continuing to munch on her cereal, she called out to them.

"Hey, did you tell him? How'd he take it?"

"Let's just say he wasn't too pleased," came a familiar masculine voice, startling Kagome thoroughly.

Looking up, she spotted Inuyasha leaning in the doorway of the kitchen, his arms crossed and glaring at her.

"I-Inuy-yasha...! What're you doing here?" Kagome asked in a surprised voice.

He shrugged. "Fetching you."

"Fetching me?"

"Making you pay up to your end of the bet; the bet that I won, in case you've forgotten," Inuyasha reminded her.

"Oh, come on!" Kagome said, standing up and slightly irritated. "It's not like you remembered yesterday and even when I DID come over, Kouga ended up cooking anyway! What was the point?!"

"It's the principal of the matter," Inuyasha said, walking into the kitchen and sitting down at the kitchen table. "You owe me two breakfasts still; three technically, but I'll let it slide."

"How kind," Kagome said in a mocking tone. Then she sighed in resignation. "What do you want?"

Inuyasha leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "How 'bout some pancakes this morning?"

Kagome gaped at him. "That'll take, like, forever!"

"Then you'd best get to it, eh?" Inuyasha said, relaxing further into his chair.

Stomping and muttering under her breath, Kagome got up from the table and turned towards the stove. "You're so impossible!" she informed him.

After about ten minutes of preparing and starting to cook at a steady pace, Inuyasha cracked one eye open from when he had closed both to relax. "Gods, can you go any slower?!"

"Hey!" Kagome protested. "I never said I was the best cooker in world, okay?! You shoved this bet on me, so you have to deal with any way I choose to carry it out!"

Inuyasha opened up his other eye and stood up. "One," he said, pointing a finger at her, "I didn't shove anything on you. You accepted the bet fair and square. And two, it'll be noon by the time we eat at the rate you're going!"

"Think you could do better?!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "'Course." He went over and picked up the spatula she had placed in preparation of flipping. "Pour away," he said, indicating the pancake mix she held.

After Kagome had carefully poured some of the mix into nice, neat circles and they had sat cooking for a few moments, Inuyasha shoved the spatula underneath them and expertly flipped them so that they would proceed to cook on the other side as well.

Kagome watched him for a minute before narrowing her eyes at him. When Inuyasha felt her heated gaze, he looked up. "What?"

"Why the heck do you need me to cook your breakfasts if you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself, and then some?!"

Inuyasha shrugged for the third time that day. "A few reasons. I wanted to see how good a cook you are; it's nice having someone serve me; and, of course, there's always the laziness factor to consider."

Kagome fumed. "Rrrgh, you're such a jerk!" she yelled, flinging some pancake mix at him.

It hit him square in the forehead and proceeded to roll down his face until it reached his mouth. At this point, he licked some of it off with his tongue. "Hmmm, pretty good," he said slowly and thoughtfully. "Let's see how you like it," he continued, grinning and flinging a larger glob of the mixture at her.

Hitting her in the head and mixing into her hair, Kagome screeched, "Inuyasha!!" as she took a large spoon and scooped a large amount of pancake mix out to chuck at him.

Catching some of it and throwing it back at her, all mayhem broke loose. They soon set up blockades made of the table and chairs and launched the mix back and forth, not really caring if it hit the other or not.

By the time Kagome reached into her bowl for some more ammunition and discovered it empty, she was gasping from exertion and laughter. "Truce!" she called out. "I'm out of ammo."

"Truce," Inuyasha's voice came back to her, equally out of breath.

Both standing up, they walked to the center of the kitchen to shake hands and seal their deal. But as they both grasped each other's hand, they slipped on the pancake mix-lathered floor and fell. Kagome thought for a brief moment she saw a flash, but passed it off as the sun glaring through the window.

Laying on the floor for a moment, Kagome said finally, "I think I'm gonna need another shower."

"Ditto," Inuyasha agreed. Carefully standing up, he offered Kagome a hand which she gladly accepted.

Kagome was about to thank him when she caught sight of the rest of the messy kitchen and her jaw dropped. Inuyasha looked around as well before giving her a lopsided grin.

"Management's not going to like this..."

* * *

A/N Yay, 'nother chapter! Oh, I just want to mention that I going to be ridiculously busy this week with dumb school projects and then I'll be skiing straight for four days in a row starting Saturday, so if there's a slight delay in my updating, please don't be mad. I've got an all-day ski practice on Saturday, then the semi-finals race for my local ski team on Sunday. Sunday night, I go off with my school race team to the last level of competition; we'll be staying there until Tuesday night. Guess I'll be spending my birthday (next Monday) skiing on a wicked hill. Not too shabby... ^-^

So don't expect my next chapter right away, but when it does come out, it should be good. Ooooh, I'm so evil... ^_~ Don't worry, it shouldn't be too big of a delay; maybe next Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Alrighty then, that's all, I hope to hear what you thought of this chapter, and I'll talk to ya later! ^_~


	12. Say Cheese!

Disclaimer: Who me? Own Inuyasha? Whatever possessed you to have that idea?

A/N Okay, folks, I am back! And with tons to say, I might add.

One, yeah, I don't know if anyone noticed in the last chapter, but somehow I managed to type the word cooker instead of the word cook. When I read it over after I had posted it, I smacked myself. Physically. I don't know where it came from, and I'm honestly not that dumb... usually. Just wanted to clear that up.

Second thing. Ack! I injured my knee ski racing Sunday! I had to miss the last level of my school ski race team's competition and I'll have to miss the finals of my local ski team's competition. How crappy a birthday present can you get? 

This isn't meant to discourage you guys in any way about skiing, though. It happens in every sport. I was so glad to receive reviews from you guys saying how you went skiing or snowboarding and how much you enjoyed it. Especially about how you discovered a new fav. food in poutine, sleepwalking chicken and HAP. ^_^

But you know, I-Like-Sesshomaru, I find that Inuyasha and Kagome do get along together a lot better when they're alone in the show. Not a whole ton better, perhaps, but I guess they can just be more open with each other when no one else is around. ^_^

And on a last note, heh, heh, heh... Oh, Sesshoumaru and Rin have already been planned for a cameo in this fic. *Insert evil laughter here* RogueSummers, fear not, it's all taken care off...

I was so happy with all the reviews I got for the last chapter! I know it was slightly on the short side, but I actually got 25 reviews for it alone! I love you guys oh so very much, you're all super nice! They really helped me get out of my birthday blues and now here's another fun-filled chapter for all you awesome people to enjoy!  
  


~*~

"What took you guys so long?" Sango asked Inuyasha and Kagome as they skied up to them.

Inuyasha and Kagome shared a look and Kagome said, "You don't want to know."

They had spent all morning cleaning up the mess in the condo and had ended up eating no breakfast at all. It was late in the morning, approaching noon, before they were able to rejoin their friends.

"Having a bit too much fun alone together?" Miroku said, wiggling his eyebrows at them.

"Miroku..." Inuyasha said in warning as he raised his fist.

"Kidding! Kidding...! I'm always joking around with you; you should know that by now!" Miroku said somewhat nervously while patting his friend on the back.

"You'd better be kidding," Kagome threatened. "Because you know what you'll be kissing if you aren't, and it won't be Sango!"

Sango, who had been vaguely nodding to Inuyasha and Kagome's threats, suddenly straightened up and shot her friend a glare. "Excuse me, Kagome!? Care to repeat that?!"

"Uh, no, I don't think so," Kagome said, trying to inch away from the group without Sango noticing.

Her plan proved unsuccessful, however, as Sango shot her another glare and started towards her.

"Eep!" Kagome squeaked and began skiing full-out for the chairlifts.

"Get back here!"

"Think I'll pass!" Kagome called back over her shoulder as she skated* frantically for her survival.

"Are you slow at everything?" Inuyasha asked her innocently as he effortlessly skated past her on his flashy red skis.

"Are you a jerk about everything?" Kagome shot back as she struggled to catch up with him.

"Now, now, you two! Stop fighting!" Ayame chided them jokingly as she and Kouga slid up with them to board the chairlift. The four of them sat down on it, leaving Sango and Miroku alone on the chairlift behind them.

"Don't think you've gotten away!" Sango called up to Kagome. "You're gonna re-eeaahh! Get your hands offa me, lech!" This was followed by a sickening whacking sound.

"So what were you guys doing this morning?" Kouga asked Kagome and Inuyasha.

"Um, cooking?" Kagome responded innocently.

"Cooking?" Ayame asked incredulously.

"Uh, messy cooking?" Inuyasha supplied.

"Uh, huh..." Kouga said in disbelief.

"You guys have a pancake batter fight and see what it does to your kitchen!" Kagome blurted out in a huff.

"A pancake batter fight?!"

"Uh..." Kagome's eyes grew shifty. "Perhaps I've said too much..." she said, sinking further into the seat as Inuyasha glared at her.

~*~

"No, Miroku."

"Not even just a little bit?"

"No."

"Come, now. Admit your true feelings."

"Miroku...! I am not attracted to you in any way, shape or form!"

"How 'bout personality wise?"

"Personality?! You grope every girl you see!" Sango burst out in frustration.

"Ah, but that's not true, my dear, lovely Sango. I only grope every beautiful girl I see," Miroku answered back proudly.

"Oh, well, my mistake," Sango said sarcastically. After a few minutes of silence, she asked in exasperation, "When is this chairlift ride ever going to end?!"

Miroku gave her a hurt expression. "Are you not enjoying my company?"

Sango eyed him from the other end of the chairlift. "I might enjoy it more if you weren't being perverted half the time," she informed him.

"Really?" Miroku said in a hopeful tone. "Then I solemnly swear not to stick my hands where they don't belong for the rest of the chairlift ride."

"I find two things wrong with that statement," Sango said. "One, what about after the chairlift ride?"

Miroku shrugged. "I don't think I'll be able to restrain them that long."

"Two, how can I trust you? You haven't exactly given me the best impression," Sango told him.

"Hmmm, good question." Miroku thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I really have nothing to offer you; except that if I break my promise, I'll let you call on Inuyasha to help you beat me up." With that thought, he shuddered.

Sango looked at him speculatively. "I guess..."

"Splendid! Now what shall we talk about?" Miroku asked eagerly.

"Um..." Sango, not used to having Miroku not acting lecherously towards her, was at a loss as to what to say.

"Anything at all," Miroku said, swinging his skis back and forth.

"Okay, well, um... you like skiing a lot, right?" Sango asked, groping for a subject.

"Yeah..."

"And you're really good, right? Like, as good as Inuyasha and Kouga?" she pressed.

"I guess so... Is this going somewhere, my dear Sango?" Miroku questioned, puzzled.

"Well, I've just been wondering why you don't race and compete like them," Sango said. "I mean, if you've got the skill, and your friends do it, why not you?"

Miroku shrugged. "I tried it when I was younger, but I never really was that interested in it. Plus I injured myself once in a race and it kinda left a bad feeling with me, ya know? I mean, I got over it and I know that it shouldn't keep me from continuing, but thinking about it's kind of like a bad taste in my mouth, if that makes any sense. Anyways, like I said, it never really appealed that much to me in the first place so it's not that great a loss. Plus, I'm more of a jumper, myself. That's where my true passion lies."

"That's neat," Sango said in awe. "I've always thought jumping looked kinda neat. Do you think you might be able to give me some lessons?"

Miroku smiled at her. "Sure. It'd be my pleasure, lovely Sango."

Despite her aversion to him, Sango felt a light pink colour touch her cheeks. Miroku could be kind of sweet when he wasn't being a pervert.

They disembarked from the chairlift, Sango still on her little high. She plummeted back down to Earth, however, as soon as she felt a now familiar pressure on her backside. Fuming she twisted around in her skis and delivered a powerful hit to her companion's head with her pole.

"You-you creep!" she yelled, angry at herself for ever letting her guard down because he had shown a glimpse of decency.

"I'm truly sorry, dear Sango!" Miroku said earnestly. "But I did warn you that I couldn't restrain them. You're just too beautiful to resist!"

"Awww, how cute," Kagome's voice reached Sango's ears. "Go on, Sango, give him a kiss."

Sango turned to face Kagome with what could only have been described as pure fury blazing in her brown eyes. "Kagome...!!!"

"Okay, okay!" Ayame broke in wearily. "Calm down, Sango. And stop provoking her, Kagome, 'cause I don't think anyone'll be responsible for the consequences if you continue."

With great effort, Sango relaxed and lowered her raised pole.

"I'm hungry," Inuyasha suddenly spoke up.

"You're always hungry, dog-crap," Kouga informed him.

"Why don't you go shove your head down a toilet?" Inuyasha shot back. "It might actually clean your hair up a bit."

"I'm hungry, too," Kagome said.

"You guys just got out here, though," Ayame said.

"Yeah, but we didn't eat anything for breakfast," Kagome protested. "I'm starved."

"I have a novel idea!" Miroku said cheerfully. He had obviously already recovered from Sango's abuse. "Why don't we go back to our condo and prepare a lunch-feast thingy!"

Kouga shook his head in wonder. "Your grammatical skills never cease to amaze me."

"I'm in as long as I don't have to cook," Kagome said instantly.

"I'm in as long as Kagome doesn't have to cook," Inuyasha said in agreement a split second later. Kagome shot him a dirty look to which he shrugged.

"Alright, then, I guess it's settled," Ayame said. "Let's head back."

"Swee-ahhh! Miroku!" Kagome squealed, trying desperately to get away from the skier's hands as Inuyasha clobbered him over the head.

"I swear, lech," Inuyasha began threateningly, "one day I'm gonna chop off those hands of yours."

"Preferably sooner than later!" Kagome said from behind the silver-haired racer.

Sango sighed in irritation. "Down you go, pervert," she said pulling Miroku away from the pair and shoving him down the hill they were standing in front of."

The others quickly followed suit and skied down towards the boys' condo as soon as it came into view. Popping out of their skis, they hauled them over their shoulders and quickly ascended the inside stairs to reach the boys' assigned living area.

"Mmmm, food; I can't wait!" Inuyasha exclaimed as soon as he stepped into the room.

"Uh, I hate to say this, Inuyasha, ol' pal, but there's no food yet. We have to make it," Miroku told him as if he were trying to break some bad news to him in the gentlest way possible.

Inuyasha looked at him, nonplussed. "Well, what are you waiting for, then? Start cooking!"

Miroku opened his mouth as if to reply, but then thought better of it and shut it, shaking his head. Everyone removed their equipment and he walked into the kitchen, Kouga, Ayame and Sango following him. Inuyasha and Kagome went over and sat on the couch, waiting to be served.

"What would you like for lunch, O mighty one?" Miroku called from the kitchen to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha thought for less than a second, then called back, "Something with noodles!"

"Mmmm, yeah, pasta!" Kagome agreed. "But no spiciness!"

"Will do, ma'am,"Ayame said, shoving a chef's hat she'd found down on her red locks. "One lunch of non-spicy pasta coming right up!"

"And, while we're waiting," Inuyasha said, grabbing the TV remote and flicking it on, "we'll just check out what's on."

As the screen faded into colour from its dormant black, the sound of high-pitched, annoying voices reached their ears.

"Uh oh, Nunu, the tele-toast maker's broken!"

"Big hug!"

"Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!" Kagome and Inuyasha screamed in unison as the image of teletubbies prancing across the screen came into view.

"Change it! Change it! Change it! Change it!" Kagome yelled at him, trying to cover her eyes while bouncing frantically, causing her to fall off the front of the couch with a thud.

"Eeeaargh!" Inuyasha gave his last desperate cry as he leaned forward violently, pressing the button on the remote. The channel switched as he, too, fell forward off of the couch and onto Kagome. After a few moments of their frantic and heavy panting...

"Inuyasha, could you get off me, please?" Kagome voice was muffled from having her face stuffed into the carpet.

"Everything alright out there?" Sango's voice called out from the kitchen.

There were some footsteps and Miroku's voice said, "Oh, everything's peachy. They're just spending some quality time alone together."

The perverted grin could practically be heard in Miroku's tone, and Inuyasha tried desperately get himself up from where he had landed on Kagome. This proved more difficult than he'd originally thought, however, seeing as their arms and legs had somehow gotten tangled. After a few minutes of groans and grumbled protests, though, they had successfully untangled themselves and risen to their feet to face Miroku who had a knowing smile on his face.

"Miroku..." Inuyasha began, and Miroku felt he was going to now receive a most harmful beating for uttering his insinuating comment.

"Yes...?"

"What were you doing watching Playhouse TV?" Inuyasha finished, referring to the channel that had been playing the Teletubbies.

"Uhhh... no comment?" Miroku replied uneasily.

Inuyasha nodded in sudden understanding. "That's what I thought. Your true colours are starting to shine through. Is your favourite one the fat purple one with the upside down triangle on its head?"

Kagome nudged him. "They're all fat."

Inuyasha nodded thoughtfully as Miroku sputtered. "True. But the purple upside down triangle speaks loud enough on its own."

They both turned to regard Miroku speculatively.

"I, uh, I must return to the kitchen and, um, assist with the, er, cooking," Miroku said, edging his way back to the kitchen under their intense gazes.

Once he'd broken eye contact and fled, Inuyasha and Kagome laughed and flopped back onto the couch to see what decent TV was on. After about a half an hour of scintillating scents wafting from the busy kitchen, they were called into the kitchen and to the table for some mouth-watering fettucine alfredo. Devouring his heaping share in less than five minutes, Inuyasha retrieved another and finished it too before everyone else was even done their first.

"Told you he was always hungry," Kouga said. The others nodded in agreement.

Inuyasha was able to finish one more helping, finishing off the humongous bowl the others had prepared, before everyone else declared themselves stuffed after their first shares.

"Let's go!" he said impatiently as the others slowly rose to their feet. "I want to get some more skiing in before the day's over."

"Uh, there's a little issue about cleaning up the mess," Sango said. Grasping one of his ears and tugging him towards the sink, she continued. "And since you didn't help with the cooking, you're sure as hell gonna help us clean up."

"Hmph," Inuyasha said, trying to ignore the pain coming from the ear she was using as a handle. "Don't see why after that huge mess Kagome and I cleaned up this morning."

"That's your and Kagome's problem, not mine," she said, smiling sweetly.

After the mess was cleared away and the ingredients put back in their respective places, the group was ready to head out. They reapplied their gear and trooped downstairs. Almost as soon as Kagome stepped outside the condo, however, she was half-blinded by a flash. She stumbled backwards into Inuyasha who steadied her and then pushed her behind himself as if in protection.

"What's your name, miss?"

"What's your affiliation to Inuyasha and Kouga?"

"Inuyasha! If you could date one celebrity girl, who would it be?"

"What's your favourite colour?"

"Kouga, what kind of shampoo do you use?"

"Miroku, have any dirty secrets to spill about your two friends here?"

"Inuyasha, how do you get that teased and wild look in your hair?"

"Are these your girlfriends?"

As soon as he had registered what was going on, Kouga let out a high pitched squeal, turned tail and ran as fast as he could back into the condominium. His friends and the reporters that had just intercepted them watched him go in awe.

"That's got to be the fastest boy I've ever seen!" one of the reporters exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Ayame tried to slowly follow suit, but were thwarted when the reporters swarmed in behind them and cut off their exit.

"Who are these girls?"

"Um... friends..." Inuyasha responded.

"How'd you meet?"

"Skiing..." Miroku said, being deliberately vague.

"Are you ready for the competition next week, Inuyasha?"

"Yes," Inuyasha said, resigning himself to the endless questioning period.

"What do you think of Naraku who has an equal number of FIS points as you?"

"Keh. Naraku's got nothing on me."

"What about Kouga?"

"I'll be the one taking the gold home next week," Inuyasha grated. "But, otherwise, Kouga'll beat Naraku's sorry ass too."

"How are you preparing for the race?" The reporters were all starting to press up close to the group, especially Inuyasha, holding out their microphones and continuing to blind them with their flashing cameras.

"Taking it easy and doing some basic but effective drills," Inuyasha said, beginning to bore.

"What do you eat for breakfast to keep your energy up?"

At this, Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and something akin to amusement flickered in his golden eyes. "Whatever I can," he drawled.

"What would you like to say to younger skiers that look up to you?"

"Stay true to the sport, stay healthy, and stay in school," Inuyasha replied in a monotone voice, testimony that he'd answered that type of question more times than once before.

"What's your aspiring goal?"

Inuyasha began to really resent Kouga for escaping this torture. "To set a new world record in ski racing."

"Whose your favourite celebrity?"

"Myself," Inuyasha responded, eliciting a few chuckles from the reporters as Kagome rolled her eyes.

"What's your greatest desire?"

"To get away from you and continue skiing," he declared, grasping Kagome's hand and beginning to drag her through the sea of reporters.

He heard the others following and the flashes from the cameras increase in frequency. He heard of few bewildered mutters of, "Holding hands," and "My, my," causing him to hastily release Kagome from his grip and grit his teeth. Once they had escaped the crowd, they stepped into their skis and started desperately towards the chairlift. Unfortunately, the reporters followed on foot. This time, Inuyasha was most definitely less accommodating.

"What type of cologne do you use?"

"Go away!"

"Where do you shop for the latest style?"

"I'm not a freakin' valley girl!"

"What do you do in your spare time?"

"Are you retarded?! What do you think I do?! Ski, of course!"

"Do you prefer women's shampoo to men's?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?! And what are you on?! Shampoo is shampoo!"

"Are you seeing anyone presently?"

"Yeah, a bunch of goddamn annoying people who can't mind their own business and so stick their noses into mine!"

"What kind of underwear brand do you wear?"

"Leave me ALONE!!"

~*~

*I'm not referring to skating here as if they suddenly strapped on skates. It's a term used 'cause what they do is very similar to skating, but in skis, if that makes any sense. They do it on flat ground to get some momentum and move around. Once you get enough speed, it's kinda like skating, but with a lot more friction. Hope that clears it up a bit; it's kinda hard to explain! ^_^'

A/N There ya go, a longer chapter this time. Hope it makes up for the delay. ^_^ Damn, I hate reporters. They're so annoying! I can't even really read tabloids and such on true celebrities 'cause I pity them too much.

Oh, boy, I can't wait to write the next chapter. These Wednesday chapters are gonna be the death of me... But then there's Thursday... and Friday... and Saturday... and... oh, heck! There all gonna kill me! Hopefully not before I post them, though! ^_~

Ooooh, my knee is practically back to normal now; I just can't quite stretch or bend it to its full extent. Almost, though! And just after one week! ^_^ I still have to miss my ski race tomorrow at the same wicked hill my school race was held at, though... bummer...

Well, I hoped you liked this chapter and be sure to look out for the next one when it comes out... sometime in the near future. ^_^' Can't really predict these things, but rest assured it'll be no later than next weekend! I love hearing from all you guys, new and old reviewers, and knowing what you thought of the different aspects of the chapter. Hope to hear your thoughts and I'll catch you all later! ^_~


	13. Splashing Around

Disclaimer: Yes, I own Inuyasha. On another note, did you know that gullible isn't in the dictionary?

A/N Whoo, ff.net wasn't being too nice this week, was it? I couldn't see my reviews until Wednesday night, and then the log in busted down after that. Oh, well, it's back up and running now.

To clarify what Teletubbies are, Cindy, well, they're a kids' TV show. A very SCARY kids' TV show, in my opinion. They're like, I dunno, fat aliens or something and there's four of them. Each of them are different colours and each have a different symbol on their head. Now, there just so happens to be a purple one with an upside down triangle on its head. Many people had fun joking about the implications of that...

Okay, I'll just say that I've been working on this chapter all week and I'm really pleased about how it turned out, so I hope you like it too! Voilà!

~*~

After being endlessly harassed by the reporters every time they arrived at the bottom of the hill, the group decided to switch to the other side of the mountain until the pesky individuals caught on that they weren't wanted. Kouga had yet to make an appearance.

"Do you think they're gone yet?" Ayame asked the others as they stood at the top of the mountain. "Think it's safe?"

"Well, unless they're a bunch of annoying fools who have no lives and so must delve into those of others and recount to the world all their personal and private secrets and matters, I think we'll be perfectly fine," Miroku stated.

Everyone glanced uneasily at one another. "Perhaps we should stay away a little longer," Kagome said.

"Oh, come on, you chickens," Sango said. "What are you all so afraid of, anyway? They're just a bunch of people, armed with nothing more than microphones and cameras."

Inuyasha looked at her blankly. "Obviously, you've never been asked what brand of underwear YOU wear."

"Okay, good point," Sango admitted. "But still, we have to go in sometime. I mean, if nothing else, the lifts will close while we're on the other side of the mountain, and we'll have to walk back, or wait until they open up again for night-skiing. Might as well face the music now."

Inuyasha scowled. "It's a lot less like music, and a lot more like rap."

"Cheer up, Inuyasha, my friend," Miroku said. "I hear there's an awesome swimming pool at the resort and some splashing around might be the thing for getting your mind off the reporters who've found us much sooner than we would have hoped. You ladies are most welcome to join us, of course. I'm sure we'll be able to scrounge Kouga up from somewhere, too," he added thoughtfully.

Ayame's eyes brightened. "Swimming? Can't wait! We're definitely gonna be there; right, girls?"

"Wouldn't miss it!" Kagome said enthusiastically.

"Oh, yeah!" Sango agreed fervently.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Fine by me."

"Perfect!" Miroku said, as if sealing a deal. "Then let's head back so we can get ready. Remember, against their microphones and cameras, we've got long metal poles that could very easily be classified as beating sticks."

A sadistic grin slowly crept over Inuyasha's face. "We do, don't we?" he said in a very thoughtful tone.

"Down, boy," Kagome said. "I don't think it would help your ski racing ambitions if you were placed in prison for murdering a few reporters-no matter how much they deserved it."

Inuyasha mock pouted. "Awww, well, you're no fun."

Sango sighed. "Let's just go already," she said, giving herself a push to start off down the hill. The others soon followed and then split directions to head to their respective condos once they neared the bottom. Thankfully, the reporters were nowhere in sight.

~*~

"What do you think; the blue one or the red one?" Ayame asked her two friends, holding up two different bathing suits.

"Why'd you bring more than one bathing suit in the first place?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"Well, I couldn't decide on either one at home, so I was hoping you two could help me out if I just brought both," Ayame answered awkwardly.

"Ah," Sango said in understanding. "The red, of course. It matches your hair."

Ayame beamed at her. "Thanks! I'll go change right away!"

Kagome looked at Sango after Ayame had dashed off to her room. "Why didn't she just use the foolproof method of solving any problem?" she asked as if it were obvious. "Eenie-meenie-minie-moe?"

Sango shrugged. "Beats me. I'm gonna go change too."

Kagome gave her a sly look. "Wearing a bikini?"

Sango looked at her as if she were crazy. "Are you insane? Around Miroku? That's just asking for it. Nope, I'm wearing a one piece. Still can't believe you're gonna wear a two piece, though; even if it isn't a bikini. Have you no self-conscience?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Not that again. You've only been bugging me about that since the day I bought it. Besides, Ayame has a two piece suit, too."

Sango shook her head. "Can't believe her, either," she said, walking out.

Kagome shrugged and quickly slipped on her green bathing suit. The top half resembled a sports bra and the bottom half short bicycle shorts. She saw nothing wrong with it. Doubtless, it would attract Miroku's attention, but she had a feeling he'd be slightly more interested in Sango, one piece bathing suit or two. She grinned evilly, knowing if Sango knew her thoughts, she'd already be beyond dead. Putting on a baggy shirt and track pants, she tied her hair back in a high ponytail and then fished her towel out of her suitcase. Humming, she slung it over her shoulder and headed out of her room to see if her two friends were ready yet.

Once Sango and Ayame had emerged from their rooms, they put on their ski jackets and some normal boots, then headed out towards the main resort complex. After meeting the boys outside, they followed a few directions, then headed into the women's change rooms as the guys headed into the men's. After removing their outer clothing, the girls grabbed their towels and dashed for the door leading to the pool.

Once in the pool area, which was surprisingly empty, however, they all skidded to a halt at the sight of the boys emerging from the men's change rooms nearby.

As the boys noticed them, they too, stopped in their tracks to appraise the new arrivals.

Kagome couldn't help but stare at the guys before her who wore nothing more than swimming trunks. It wasn't everyday that you were presented three very built and hot shirtless boys, so she figured she might as well get her eyeful while she could. It wasn't like she could tear her gaze away anyway...

Despite being an arrogant rude jerk, Kagome could definitely not dock marks for Inuyasha's looks...chest...whatever. He obviously worked out, judging by the muscles built up on his arms and chest. Not to mention his muscled legs; those would be from skiing so much. But, damn, how could she have ever denied to Ayame that he was hot?

~*~

Inuyasha was in somewhat of a similar state when presented with a scantily clad Kagome. Some girls looked atrocious in two piece suits, some looked decent, and then there were those who looked, well, a lot better than decent. He was opting for the last category in Kagome's case. He couldn't rip his eyes away and he vaguely noticed that his jaw was not as closed as it used to be.

~*~

Ayame had already seen Kouga that morning when he lacked most of his clothing, but this second time didn't make him any less of an eye candy. Her eyes roamed over his arms and chest as a slight blush warmed her cheeks.

~*~

While looking at Ayame, Kouga couldn't help but be thankful that she'd worn a two piece bathing suit. It not only fitted and accented her curves perfectly, but made her look damn fine. He would be content to forgo swimming for the night if he could just stay there and enjoy the view.

~*~

Miroku grinned. He loved himself at that moment. Suggesting swimming was the best and most brilliant thing he could have done! Now he was presented with three beautiful girls clad in nothing but small swimsuits. Did life get any better than this? Well, Sango answered the question for him by just being there, clad in a bathing suit herself. Gazing at her, Miroku forgot about Kagome and Ayame, even though they were both wearing two piece suits and Sango was only wearing a one piece.

~*~

Sango stared at Miroku in amazement. Who know he would be so well built? It was almost enough to make up for his lechery...almost. Reminding herself of this, she was brought back to herself and tore her eyes away from the hot boy before her.

Glancing around at her friends, an amused smile found its way to her lips. Inuyasha and Kagome, and Kouga and Ayame were all gaping at each other like they'd never seen a member of the opposite sex before; especially none quite so clothed.

"Kagome, you're drooling," Sango whispered to her friend beside her. She was hoping to embarrass her enough to get back at her for all the comments at her and Miroku.

Instead, Kagome just brought a hand up to her mouth and wiped at the imaginary drool, never taking her eyes off of the hunk in front of her.

Sango rolled her eyes, but stopped abruptly when she noticed Miroku staring at her, a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Miroku! Quit staring! What do you think this is, an all you can see modelling show?"

At the sound of her voice, everyone seemed to snap out of their dazes and, upon realizing what they'd been doing, proceeded to blush profusely. Everyone, of course, except Miroku, who felt no shame whatsoever.

"Yes...well, erm..." Kouga stammered, trying to break through the thick silence that had ensued.

"Eh heh, right...um..." Kagome added intelligently.

"Pool!" Inuyasha said, pointing. Everyone nodded like he'd just said the smartest thing they'd heard all day.

Stuttering like idiots, they all went to hang up their towels, avoiding eye contact the whole time.

~*~

Looking anywhere but at Inuyasha, Kagome suddenly spotted a smaller body of water not too far from the main pool. Seeing the bubbles shoot out of jets on the sides, she squealed, "Hot tub!" and darted towards it. Sango soon followed suit.

Ayame took some goggles she had brought with her and strapped them on. Heading towards the main pool, she did a perfect shallow dive into it and began the front crawl to the other end.

Kouga and Inuyasha jumped in the pool as well as Miroku headed towards the hot tub.

Upon his arrival, Sango shook her head vehemently. "Oh, no, you don't," she said to him. "You are not allowed in here no matter what. Hot tubs are off limits to perverts."

Miroku pouted, but knew if he were to try anything now, he'd be beaten to a pulp before his efforts could be rewarded. He headed back to the main pool, his shoulders slouched.

"Mmmm, so relaxing," Kagome murmured as she sunk up to her neck in the warm water. She sighed and closed her eyes as the jets shot out water that massaged her back.

"So nice," Sango agreed. "Especially without unwanted leches."

Kagome opened one eye to look at her. "I'd say something, but I have a feeling I'd be in much pain before I finished the sentence."

"Well, at least you're finally starting to get some good sense," Sango said. "A little late, perhaps, but better late than never."

"Well, if you must know, I don't think teasing you would be worth the bruises that would mar my skin. They'd show up a lot better with what I've got on," Kagome said, indicating her two piece bathing suit that did, in fact, reveal quite a bit of flesh.

"Oh, I see," Sango said as if in sudden understanding. "You want to look good for Inuyasha." She raised her voice slightly while uttering his name; enough that he looked over at them from where he'd been presently treading water and trying to dunk Miroku.

Kagome blushed by the fact that Inuyasha was staring at them now and she couldn't defend herself against Sango's comment. "I'll get you back," she warned threateningly in a low voice. "Just you wait, I've got tons more to say about you and the lech."

Sango leaned back with a smug expression on her face. "And when that time comes, I'll be more than happy to pound you mercilessly. But, for now, I think I'll just revel in my little victory."

Kagome huffed and closed her eyes once more, letting her muscles relax and the tension in her body wash away with the churning water. Her mind wandered off for a while, thinking about nothing in particular, while she momentarily forgot about the rest of the world. She was on verge of actually falling asleep when two strong arms encircled the backs of her knees and her back and lifted her effortlessly out of the warm water.

She squeaked and her eyes flung open to see that Inuyasha had picked her up out of the hot tub and was now carrying her away from it.

"I-Inuyasha?" she asked uncertainly, trying desperately to ignore that she was pressed up against his firm chest. She fought the blush that threatened to heat her cheeks.

At the sound of her voice, Inuyasha glanced down at her and smiled gently. Kagome swore her heart skipped a beat at his unusual display of affection. Wait... VERY unusual display of affection. Just what was he up to?

Kagome's eyes narrowed in suspicion a split second before she was tossed unceremoniously from his arms into the main pool. After just been soaking in the nice warm hot tub, the pool felt ice cold, and so Kagome came to the surface, sputtering and shivering. "I-Inuyash-ha, I-I'm gon-na kill y-you!" she yelled, teeth chattering, at the boy laughing at her plight.

She lunged forward and grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the pool beside her. Then she proceeded to splash and dunk him the best she could. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Kouga had gotten Ayame to stop swimming lengths and had managed to engage her in a water fight as well.

Kagome shoved Inuyasha's head beneath the water and he sunk down into the depths of the pool, disappearing momentarily. Kouga dove down as well, and she vaguely saw the two boys swimming underwater to a shallower part of the pool. She and Ayame gave chase, but when they had swum three quarters length of the pool, they realized they had lost their prey. They stopped and looked around in confusion.

Two surprised squeaks escaped the girls as they suddenly rose out of the water, now perched on Inuyasha and Kouga's shoulders.

"Chicken fight!" the two boys yelled and slowly waded towards each other.

Kagome hung on to Inuyasha's head for dear life. "Don't you dare drop me, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha snorted. "Like I was planning on it. How would we win the chicken fight then?"

Ayame, who had quickly gotten over her surprise, grinned. "Bring it on, Kagome! Let's see what you've got! Kouga and I could take you and Inuyasha on any day!"

"Oh, well, that's it," Kagome muttered, rolling up imaginary sleeves. "Let's take 'em down, Inuyasha."

The two boys slowly circled each other, while the girls they were carrying on their shoulders periodically pushed and pulled the other pair. At one point, Ayame looked over at Sango, who was still relaxing in the hot tub, and at Miroku, who was moping at the edge of the pool.

"Come on, Sango! Come and join us! Miroku can be your partner!"

Sango looked over at her with a horrified expression. "M-me?! On that pervert's SHOULDERS?! Not on your life!" she said emphatically.

Ayame shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"Ah hah!" Kagome's voice came to her. "You never should have let your guard down!"

Ayame turned in time to see that Kagome and Inuyasha had gotten a lot closer in the time she been talking to Sango. Kagome started pushing at her and Ayame was hard pressed to cling to Kouga for support. She finally let go, however, when her insistent tugging pulled Kouga off balance and caused them both to fall backwards into the water.

Kagome and Inuyasha cheered and started their slow victory lap of the shallow end as Kouga and Ayame came, sputtering, to the surface.

"Yeah, yeah," Ayame said, climbing out of the pool and heading for the diving board. As she passed the pair still in the pool, however, she pushed Kagome off of Inuyasha's shoulders and into the water. Gloating in her spiteful act, she continued on, her head held high. When she reached her destination, she called out, "Hey! Let's have a jumping contest!"

Everyone shrugged and made their way to where she was waiting, Kagome and Inuyasha with identical scowls on their faces.

Ayame started by performing a deep dive and coming to the surface half the pool's length away. Kouga followed suit with another deep dive, as if challenging Ayame's. Once he had swum out of the way, Sango sprung off the diving board, did a front flip and dove into the pool's depths. As she came to the surface near the side of the pool, Miroku attempted to shallow dive, but ended up accomplishing a belly flop. A loud smack resounded when he hit the water and everyone winced.

Groaning and clutching his side, Miroku clambered out of the pool where Sango was standing with a worried expression.

"Miroku, are you alright?" she asked as soon as he stood up beside her.

Miroku instantly stopped moaning and released his grip on his reddened side. "Dear Sango, were you truly concerned for me?" he asked eagerly while grasping one of her hands in both of his.

Sango's eyes narrowed. "I'll take that as a yes," she said as she pushed him back into the pool with her free hand. 

Unfortunately for her, however, her other hand was still being grasped tightly by Miroku and so with an "oomph!" and a splash, she fell forward with him into the pool and landed on his chest. A blinding flash ensued and when Sango and Miroku managed to regain their composure and breach the surface, they saw their four friends glaring suspiciously at a large potted plant that resided in the corner of the pool area.

"Damn reporters," Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Silence greeted him.

After a moment, they heard a muttering voice coming from the direction of the plant. "Oh, I hope they didn't see me... Now, to get out of here..."

The six companions looked on in disbelief as two hands wrapped around the pot from both sides and lifted the pot a little ways off the ground. Two feet could be seen peeking out from underneath the said pot. Slowly the potted plant started to scuttle across the floor, sticking out like a sore thumb.

"Okay... nice and easy, don't go too fast," they heard the voice mutter again as the plant slowly made some progress across the pool deck. "Nice and slow, gotta look inconspicuous..." The feet stumbled a bit and some dirt spilled on the deck. "Crap...okay, just ignore it, management'll get it. Mingle, mingle..." The voice continued muttering as it reached the next corner over from where it had previously been residing. "Okay, corner, corner...take it slow... That's it. Alright, almost there... hope they haven't noticed me..." The potted plant progressed across the next wall towards the next corner, where the double doors leading outside the pool area were. "Almost there... gotta be subtle... these doors are gonna be a challenge..." As the plant reached the doors, they heard the voice mutter a final, "Mission accomplished!" before scooting backwards out them.

The group still in the pool area stared after the potted plant a full minute in incredulity before anyone could bring themselves to speak.

"You know, I'd ask," Kagome began, "but I'm really afraid I'd get an answer."

"There are no words," Kouga said, gaping.

"I never knew a reporter would go so far," Ayame said in an equally shocked voice.

"Keh. Reporters'll go to any lengths to get a 'good shot,'" Inuyasha scoffed. "Shows how annoying they are. Still, that must've been an amateur or something. His escape was brutal!"

"Speaking of that shot," Kagome said slyly, turning to Sango and Miroku.

"Don't even think about saying anything, Kagome!" Sango shouted, her face visibly red.

Kagome smirked. "In this case, I really don't think I have to."

"Your turn to jump, Kagome!" Inuyasha said, pushing her towards the diving board as if nothing had ever happened.

Kagome shot him a miffed look before performing a pencil jump that carried her to the very bottom of the pool. When she came to the surface a little distance away, she saw Inuyasha preparing to jump. He locked eyes with her a second before he jumped, and his lips turned up into a mischievous grin. Before Kagome could react, Inuyasha sprung off the diving board and curled into a ball. His cannonball displaced massive amounts of water, effectively splashing everyone nearby; but most of all, Kagome.

He came, laughing, to the surface as Kagome coughed and sputtered. "Rrgh! Inuyasha!" she cried, lunging for him. He continued laughing, however, as she splashed him and soon his good mood spread to her, and she found herself laughing with him.

He dunked her, then swam to the side of the pool, scrambling out. Kagome soon followed, once she had recovered, and gave chase. Their other four companions were climbing out of the pool, too, in order to continue jumping. Everyone was laughing about one thing or another, but the good mood was quickly dispersed with the opening of the men's change room door.

Everyone's head swivelled to look at the new arrival; everyone, of course, but Kagome, who had just collided with Inuyasha's back when he stopped so abruptly.

There, framed in the men's change room doorway, was none other than Naraku, with a fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist. With a good natured smile, he sauntered in, and said jovially, "Mind if I join you, ol' chaps?"

Kouga gave him a disgusted look. "Actually, you wouldn't BELIEVE how much we mind."

"Get outta here, Naraku," Inuyasha said in disdain.

"You're not exactly wanted," Sango said pointedly, before turning her back on him.

Naraku's grin didn't waver as he slowly started to walk towards them. "Oh, come now," he said, beginning to remove his towel. "Surely there's room for one more." He completely removed his towel and hung it up on a towel rack nearby.

Kagome yelped and leaped into Inuyasha's arms in a style similar to that of Scooby-Doo.

Ayame fainted dead away and Kouga just barely caught her.

Sango, who still had her back to Naraku, saw her friends' unusual reactions and spoke, slowly turning around. "What're you all...ahhh!"

Naraku was standing there, towel gone, and nothing on but a tiny black speedo concealing the bare minimum.

With a strangled cry, Sango spun back around and buried her face in the shoulder of the person closest to her, which just so happened to be Miroku.

"Egad, man!" Miroku uttered, too disgusted with the sight before him to take pleasure in the fact Sango was in his arms. "That's just indecent!"

Naraku chuckled. "I think we could have a great time together," he said, walking towards the pool, the others quickly scuttling out of his way. As he passed, they noticed he had a tattoo of a spider across the entirety of his back. As creepy as that was, the idea of sharing a pool with him was more so.

"Pool's all yours!" Inuyasha shouted, running with Kagome still in his arms towards the change room doors. Kouga and Miroku picked up Ayame and Sango and quickly followed suit.

"Not there! Not there!" Kagome shouted as Inuyasha started running towards the men's change room.

He quickly changed directions and burst into the women's change room door, Kouga and Miroku behind him. Seeing a few girls in towels staring at the intruders wide-eyed, the boys realized what they'd just done. "Shit!" they uttered. They set down the girls; Ayame had thankfully regained consciousness by this time; and then dashed back out of the door.

Skidding to a halt outside, Inuyasha and Kouga looked at each other. "Shit!" they said again, then ran back in. Grabbing the drooling Miroku by the arms, they began dragging him out.

"Noooooo!" Miroku cried out in anguish, reaching a hand back towards the thoroughly startled girls. "I wanna staaay!"

Inuyasha and Kouga rolled their eyes and dragged him all the way out and into the men's change room, pointedly ignoring the sight of Naraku who was dipping his toes into the pool.

Collapsing in the change room, Inuyasha proclaimed, "That was the scariest sight I have ever seen in my entire existence and never do I wish to repeat it!"

The other two boys nodded their heads fervently in agreement.

~*~

Back in the pool area, Naraku reflected on the chaotic reaction to his attire. A slow, malevolent grin crept across his face. "Works every time..." he chuckled.

~*~

A/N Okay, extra long chapter for you to enjoy this time; I think the longest one I've written so far. I really hope you liked it and I hope I didn't leave you with a horrifying visual image of Naraku in a speedo imprinted on your mind that will give you nightmares for weeks to come! Hope to hear your thoughts and favourite parts and now I must go and quickly post! Talk to ya next chapter!


	14. Is This Love?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha? *snaps fingers* What gave me away? Was it the me writing a fanfic or the fact that my name lacks a certain Rumiko Takahashi ring to it?

A/N 0.o Wow...eh heh...gee...*scratches back of head guiltily* Sorry about that Naraku in a speedo deal... I honestly didn't mean to traumatize you all...please accept my humblest apologies. But if you really want to know why I wrote it and where it came from then *points finger* blame my friend Spacewolf! She gave me image first and suggested that I put it in. I can't stand guys in speedos, so she knew it would gross me out. But after thinking about it for a while, I realized how ingenious an idea it really was and I decided to share my pain with all of you. (Naraku's also evil, so I had to keep that image up; and I KNOW you guys weren't expecting that. ^_~) I'm truly sorry for putting the image in your heads, but know that you don't suffer alone.

D-E-V-L-41, I regret to say that I'm actually not actually famous. I have been interviewed a few times before, but not in the same manner reporters flock to celebrities. I just hate the reporters so much because I can imagine myself in that position and having every aspect of my privacy invaded and displaced to the public. Reporters seem to have no morals or qualms about what they ask famous people, and that just bugs me to no end.

And for those of you who are starting to wonder when the romance will begin, never fear; it's on its way! Just please be patient; after all, they've only really known each other for three days (this chapter starts with Thursday, which will be their fourth day). There'll definitely be more 'moments' between the couples, so hang in there!

Oh, and just a quick shoutout to Skiddy16. Canadians unite! ^_~ (I read it in your bio. I DO read them, people!) Nothing wrong with other nationalities, of course, but it's cool to find someone else from my country. ^_^

And I'm now on March Break! Booyah! A whole week off! ^_^ This'll hopefully give me more time to write.

But, anymewho, I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter so much (despite Naraku, I still got 36 reviews! Woohoo, I wuvs you all!), and voici the next chapter!

~*~

Inuyasha rolled over and looked at the time on his watch. It was 8:00, and, as his growling stomach reminded him, it was time for breakfast. He grumbled and slowly got out of his comfy bed.

Wait.

Breakfast equaled Kagome trying to cook it. Which hadn't really worked the past two mornings. Which suggested it probably wouldn't work today.

He sighed. He'd have to think up an alternative before she blew up the condo.

Thinking of Kagome also brought another thought to mind. It was her birthday on Saturday; isn't that what she had said? Even if him and Kouga and Miroku had only known her for little more than three days, they ought to get her something. But heck if he knew what girls liked as birthday presents.

He stumbled into the bathroom and had a quick shower. Blowing his long hair dry, he tied it back in a low ponytail, like he always did when skiing, and then dressed for the day.

He entered the main part of the condo to find Miroku and Kouga scouring the cupboards, trying to find something to eat. He told them of his idea to get Kagome something for her birthday.

The two boys looked at him, dumbfounded looks on their faces.

"What?!" Inuyasha snapped.

"D-did you just think of another human being?" Miroku stuttered.

Kouga knocked one side of head, as if trying to get something out of his ear. "I must have not heard you correctly. Did you just say something considerate?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Har, har. You bums; you're just jealous you didn't think of it first," he said, crossing his arms and straightening himself proudly.

Miroku and Kouga exchanged a look.

"What!?" Inuyasha snarled, cracking his knuckles.

"N-nothing, Inuyasha," Miroku said quickly. "It's a brilliant idea. I mean, why didn't I think of it?"

Inuyasha leaned back, a satisfied smile on his face. Then it faltered and he asked hesitantly, "So what do you think we should get her?"

A smile spread across Miroku's lips almost before Inuyasha had finished his sentence. "You should just leave it all up to me, guys. I'll get my gift plus both of yours for her. I always know exactly want women want." His smile slipped a bit under the pressure from the intense glares sent his way from Inuyasha and Kouga. "Or not."

"I say we just ask Ayame and Sango," Kouga said. "They'd know."

"That works too," Miroku said, still slightly shying away from Inuyasha's glare.

"Good, then," Inuyasha said, finally tearing his intense gaze from Miroku and walking towards the door. "Now I'm gonna go make sure Kagome doesn't come within a five mile radius of a frying pan."

~*~

"See ya, guys!" Kagome shouted to Sango and Ayame as she headed out of the condo on her way to cook Inuyasha's breakfast. At least it's the last time I'll have to be doing it, she reminded herself. But I'd much rather cook Inuyasha's breakfast for eternity and beyond then repeat that experience last night. Ooooh, Naraku. Gah, I'm gonna need some SERIOUS therapy after this...

She continued skiing towards the boys' condo, but when she got there she saw Inuyasha waiting outside, presumably, for her. When she neared, he grabbed her arm and turned her around.

"Inuyasha, wha-?"

"Oh, no you don't," He said, clipping himself into his skis. "We're going to go eat in the lodge this morning. I don't trust you."

"Me?! What does this have to do with me? You're the one that was the problem!" Kagome protested as they started skiing towards the lodge.

"Hah! You were the one cooking; don't try to blame it on me!"

Kagome let an frustrated sigh. "You're exasperating!" she called as she sped up and reached the lodge. 

Inuyasha hastened to follow her. When he caught up and they were putting their skis on the rack, he said, "And what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Figure it out for yourself, you jerk!" she said, bursting into the lodge before stopping dead in her tracks. Everyone in there, though there weren't too many, was staring at them.

"Um..." Inuyasha said, at a loss for words. All of a sudden, the staring people turned back amongst themselves and began whispering furiously.

"Did we miss something...?" Kagome wondered aloud.

"Apparently," Inuyasha said, just as confused. "But hell if I know what it is."

"Right...well, let's just carry...on..." Kagome said, edging towards the food line, Inuyasha behind her.

As they passed, the whispering grew and a few individuals pointed in their direction. Kagome and Inuyasha continued uncertainly, their argument forgotten when faced with this strange reaction to their presence.

When they had each ordered some bacon and eggs, they made their way to the person standing behind the cash register, in order to pay. Standing beside her counter was a news stand. Kagome glanced at it briefly before turning back to the lady. Her eyes snapped back to it, however, when her brain had registered what she'd seen.

There was her face, glaring out at her from a few different tabloids. Not only she was in them though, but Inuyasha as well. She grabbed as many different ones as she could see and turned to Inuyasha. "Buy these!"

Inuyasha glanced at them and his eyes widened. He quickly paid for them and they dashed off together to find a free table. Once they had found one fairly secluded, they spread them out on the table before them.

The first one was somewhat of a collage of pictures of them together. There was one of them the night before, when they were in their bathing suits, Inuyasha carrying Kagome and smiling down at her. Another was Kagome peeking over Inuyasha's shoulder when the reporters had bombarded them the night before. One was them holding hands as Inuyasha led Kagome out of the reporter mob. And the last one was one of Inuyasha and Kagome on the chairlift, the latter leaning on the former and laughing her head off. The headline read, 'Is this a match made in heaven?'

Inuyasha and Kagome blushed simultaneously and reached for the next one. 'Is this love knocking?' Below the headline was a picture of them on the chairlift, when Kagome had been knocking on Inuyasha's head while he glared straight ahead, his arms crossed.

Kagome had a horrified expression on her face. "Is this what those reporters think...? Wait. Is this why all those people were staring and whispering when we walked by?"

Inuyasha didn't stop to think, but grabbed the next one. It was a shot of him and Kagome slipping on the pancake batter and falling towards the floor. At the top of the page were the words, "Are they being swept off their feet..." and at the bottom, it continued, "...and falling head over heels in love?" Inuyasha groaned and buried his face in his hands to conceal his growing blush.

Kagome shakily reached for the last one. There was a photo of Kagome's first day of cooking Inuyasha's breakfast, when they were attempting to put out the burning eggs. She would have laughed at the headline if she weren't so incredibly embarrassed at that moment. 'Are things heating up in the icy recesses of Devil's Mountain?'

Inuyasha and Kagome looked at each other before abruptly turning away, cheeks pink, and found other fixtures in the room that looked fascinating.

"Hey, guys!" They turned to see Sango coming towards them. She noticed their tortured looks and asked, "Hey, what's up with you two?"

For an answer, they shoved the tabloids towards her. After looking them over, she burst out laughing. "T-that's-that's so funny!" she snorted as she collapsed in an empty chair, still chortling.

"It is not!" Kagome said indignantly. "That's what those stupid reporters are leading everyone to think! I don't want everyone to assume that me...and him..." she sputtered, pointing from her to Inuyasha and back again.

Sango just laughed harder. "It's just so corny and-and funny!"

"Sango! Dear Sango!" Miroku's voice came to them. They turned to see him approaching, a huge grin on his face as he waved a few tabloids over his head. "We're famous!"

As soon as Miroku reached them, Sango's arm shot out and grabbed the tabloids from Miroku's hands. The first was a picture of the two of them in the trees with Miroku's arm around Sango's waist. 'Alone in the bushes?' the title read, giving it a rather suggestive ring to it.

Sango's laughter abruptly died and glanced quickly at the second one. It was the picture of her falling on Miroku in the pool. The headline, 'Getting better acquainted?' wasn't helping matters in the least.

"Okay, well, at least that one was expected," Inuyasha said, jabbing a finger at the picture of them falling into the pool.

"That doesn't make it any less humiliating!" Sango snapped. "And now people will think that me and the perv...oh no..." she said, catching a glimpse of Miroku's expression. He looked as if he'd just died and gone to heaven. "Get those thoughts out of your head, lech! Don't you dare think this means anything!"

Miroku only sighed blissfully and gazed lovingly back at her. Frustrated, Sango shot up from her seat and headed towards the food line, not forgetting to smack Miroku on the way. As she passed a few tables, she finally noticed the whispered that followed her, something she'd been oblivious to before. She turned to glare at the onlookers.

"It's not what you think!" she yelled and everyone quickly turned back to their food, not willing to risk the wrath of the furious girl before them.

~*~

"Of all the nerve..." Ayame muttered to herself. "First Sango suggests that we eat in the lodge because she doesn't want to face another one of my breakfasts, and then she takes off without me. Boy, is she going to get an earful when I get my hands on her..."

She skied up to the lodge and was leaning her skis against the rack when she heard her name called. Spinning around, she saw Kouga coming towards her, after just having deposited his own skis against the rack.

"Hey! What're you doing here?" she asked as he came up beside her.

He shrugged. "There's not a ton of food left in our condo so Miroku and I decided to eat here. But the ass left before I was ready and left me behind in his haste to reach his 'dear Sango.'" Kouga snorted.

"Well, then, we have something in common." Ayame smiled at him. "Shall we?" she said, indicating the lodge doors.

Kouga nodded and they sauntered in. They had barely taken two steps before a girl about thirteen years old ran up to them, with what looked like a tabloid in her hands.

"Could I have your autograph, please?" she asked with a ditzy smile.

"Uh...I guess..." Kouga said, taking the offered newspaper. Glancing down at it, his breath caught in his throat along with Ayame's beside him.

Glaring up at him was a photo of them together on the chairlift with the old couple, his head on her shoulder and her arm around his head. A headline read, 'Top skier hides secret affair!'

Kouga seemed to be having an extremely difficult time forming coherent words, so Ayame frantically thought of a way to get out of this 'situation' unscathed and with dignity.

When in doubt, act like everything's normal.

"Oh, dear, Kouga," Ayame said suddenly in a wistful tone as she shot a meaningful look at the boy. "They've finally found us out. Whatever shall we do?"

Kouga gave her an incredulous look. The girl before them remained oblivious.

"Well, don't just stand there gaping like a fish!" Ayame said, and managed to laugh primly. "I know it's surprising, but there's no helping it now. Might as well just sign it." She slipped an arm through his and leaned her head on his shoulder. She looked up at him with a glare and nudged him in the ribs.

"O-of course," Kouga said, though his voice was a little strained. He mechanically took the girl's proffered pen and signed his name at the bottom of the picture.

"You too!" the girl insisted to Ayame.

"Uh...ok..." she stiffly took the pen from Kouga and signed her name under his. "There ya go! Have fun skiing, now!" she said cheerily as she offered the tabloid and pen back to their owner.

"Thanks!" the girl replied, turning away. "And you guys make such a cute couple!"

Kouga and Ayame blushed as they jumped apart.

"Ayame...what was that?" Kouga asked uncertainly.

"The tabloid or my little 'display?'" Ayame asked.

"I know what that damn tabloid was!" Kouga said with a slight snarl in his voice. It was a good thing Ayame could tell it was at the reporters invading his privacy instead of her question, or she might have been offended. "What was your 'display' about?" He didn't sound angry, just slightly confused.

Ayame avoided his eyes. "Well, I was thinking that maybe...we could make it into a trick...you know, like we did on that chairlift? But this time it would be like tricking the country instead of just an old couple. I mean, wouldn't that be kinda challenging?" she asked, starting to get an excited look in her eyes and tone. "And just think! It might help you get over your phobia of reporters! 'Course it wouldn't be real or anything, just pretend..." she added hastily.

She glanced up to see his reaction. It remained thoughtful and focused on the ground. She held her breath. Would he think she was being too presumptuous?

But all of a sudden, a huge smile broke out on his face and he stepped towards her in order to enfold her in a giant bear hug. "That's ingenious!" he said. He pulled back and looked down at her with a sly grin on his face. "Gods, is this going to be fun..."

~*~

"Why are we doing this again, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked.

"If we can't see them, they can't see us," she replied.

"It doesn't really help that we're hiding our faces with the tabloids with our pictures on them," he said as they made their way towards the doors leading outside.

"Oh, crap!" Kagome said, and frantically lowered the newspaper from her face. Everyone in the lodge was staring at them. "See if I ever trust that statement again," Kagome said with a slight scoff.

Inuyasha lowered his own tabloid and looked bewilderedly at her.

"How did Sango and Miroku manage to get out so easily?" Kagome moaned, doing her best to ignore the onlookers.

"Um...I think it's called 'using the back door,'" Inuyasha said. "Something you protested doing, for whatever reason I'll never be able to figure out."

"Thanks for reminding me," Kagome said dryly. "Now I feel like a complete dolt."

"As well you should," Inuyasha nodded sagely.

"Oh, shut up, you," Kagome muttered and turned away from the prying eyes. Her eyes landed on a poster displaying two ice dancers skating together. Below their picture was the announcement of an ice dancing competition being held the next day, not too far away from Devil's Mountain. "Oooh, ice dancing! I love watching it!" She turned to Inuyasha who had a slightly disgusted look on his face. "What?"

Inuyasha quickly wiped the expression off his face and replaced it with a placid one. "Nothing."

She turned back to the poster and sighed. "What I would give to see it! 'Course the tickets would probably way too expensive... Maybe they'll play it on TV tomorrow night..."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow as a thought came to him. Hmmm...he could...he had certain...but then he'd have to...and then...ugh...but she...and her...but his...and the...but he could...but then...oh what the heck!

He'd do it, but now was not the time to dwell on the consequences. Now was the time to get out of this lodge. He sighed as he and Kagome held up their tabloids again in a futile attempt to escape scrutiny and made their agonizing way out of the lodge.

~*~

A/N Well, the pesky reporters' actions have finally caught up with them; which can only lead to more fun and disaster! ^_^

And just what IS Inuyasha planning? And what are the mysterious 'consequences?' How will the public view the sudden blooming 'relationships?' What stories will Ayame and Kouga spin to fool the country?...And what exactly was Miroku planning to get Kagome for her birthday? Find out in future chapters of King of the Hill!...Well, maybe not the Miroku present thing; I'm not even sure if I want to know...

Hope you liked this chapter and hope to hear your comments! ^_^ And remember, I should have at least two more chapters out this week (hopefully) since it's my week off and I have practically NO homework. How sweet is that? I mean, FINALLY, a break...well, anyways, talk to you hopefully sooner than later! ^_~


	15. Birthday Hassle

Disclaimer: I wonder if I could remove the 'dis' from disclaimer and make it into a claimer...

A/N Yay! Over 200 reviews! 0_o Not expected by my 14th chapter, but very welcome! ^_^ Thank you baby-fanfiction for being my 200th reviewer! But I love you all!

Well, I'm glad most of you liked the last chapter; it was fun thinking up those tabloids. Most of you think you know what Inuyasha's planning and the consequences and I'll only say that you're half right; about the planning, not the consequences. Those'll be far greater than you can imagine. Mwuahahahaha...

Okay, I'm really sad and sorry you didn't like the last chapter Fiery Love... I actually have been planning on trying to get Miroku back in character; I'd realized a bit myself that he was losing some of his serious side. But for Kouga; well, I haven't seen that much of him myself. The showing of Inuyasha where I live is behind even whatever Adult Swim in the Stats has gotten to. Which also means I haven't even seen or heard of Ayame yet; much less seen Kouga's reaction to her. The fact that readers believe I have those two in character at all is a miracle for me. Heck, I haven't even seen a decent picture of Ayame; it was a total leap of faith when I said she had red hair and green eyes. So I'm basically making up their relationship as I go along; and it's gonna be different than the one in the show. Otherwise I'd have to bring in all this love drama and these love triangles which I really don't want to have to deal with in my fun loving humour fic. So please excuse the way their relationship will head 'cause if I changed it now to him hating her...well, it would just be weird with the way he's been treating her lately. Plus, him going along with the relationship scam WILL help him with the reporters because they'll be following what they think is his private life but isn't really, if that makes any sense. That way his actual private life will stay fairly private. Plus it'll just be a trick and he'll have fun doing it instead of feeling annoyed at their pushiness. But, anyways, I'll try to get Miroku a little less perverted, but the Kouga/Ayame thing'll have to stay the same. Sorry!

I'm all sad now...I think I'll go...I dunno, eat some lemon cake or something...enjoy the chapter...

~*~

"Duh! Ninja Turtles! The original Power Rangers were okay, but they still had nothing on the Turtles. Especially Leonardo."

"Hey! It was all about Michelangelo!"

"Raphael! He was the best!"

"You guys have it all wrong. Donatello was the way to be."

"We're obviously not gonna come to a conclusion. Someone else ask."

"Okay...Captain Planet or Bucky O'Hare?"

"Bucky O'Hare was pretty sweet...but Captain Planet had that awesome theme song!"

"Aww, no! Bucky O'Hare was so cute!"

"The theme song! Think of the theme song!"

"The cuteness! He was a bunny!"

"Oi...girls..."

"What?!"

"Nothing, nothing!"

"Why you-"

"Hey! I've got one! The Pillsbury Dough Boy or the Staypuff Marshmallow Man?"

There was silence as the four other teenagers glanced at each other in indecision.

"That's a tough one!"

"I'm out!"

"How can you decide?!"

"This is too hard! My head hurts..."

"Babies..." Sango muttered.

"Then you decide!" Kouga snapped.

"Uh...they're equal?"

"Not an option!" Ayame said firmly. "See? You can't decide either."

"Yeah, okay, so what?" Sango said. "At least it was a good question."

"Too good," Kagome agreed.

"Will you guys shut up?!" Inuyasha barked. "I'm trying to think over here!"

"Oh...so THAT'S what that creaky, groaning sound is," Kagome said in sudden enlightenment. "And here I was thinking it was the chairlift or something."

Kouga snorted and Inuyasha glared.

"It IS a plausible explanation," Miroku said thoughtfully, scrutinizing Inuyasha.

"Do you want to shut up now or suffer a long fall down to the lovely hill below?" Inuyasha asked venomously.

"Touchy, touchy," Miroku muttered.

"Time to get off!" Kagome said cheerily.

The six passengers hopped off the chairlift they had been recently occupying and began searching for a new hill.

"Aha!" Ayame cried, pointing at a blue square. "Let's try that one!"

Kagome shrugged. "Sure. Let's go."

"See ya, guys!" Sango called as she and Miroku headed off in the opposite direction.

The four others looked at them blankly. "Uh...where are you going, exactly?" Kouga asked.

Sango grinned. "Miroku's gonna teach me how to jump." She suddenly turned and glared at the boy. "Without being perverted."

Miroku smiled placidly at her. "Would I ever do such a thing?"

Sango didn't bother answering him, but instead turned and started skiing for the jump park, Miroku trailing after her.

"Well, then," Ayame said uncertainly. "I guess we'd best be going..."

The four remaining teens shrugged at each other and proceeded down the previously indicated hill. Upon reaching the bottom, they quickly boarded the chairlift and settled down to wait out the ride to the top. A few minutes into their ride, Kagome began to consider what skiing would be like with their reduced numbers.

Well, we can still have fun with four peop...wait a minute... Kagome thought to herself and looked around in confusion. "Where'd Inuyasha go?"

Kouga looked somewhat uncomfortable. "Uh, well, he said he had to go take care of something."

Kagome frowned. "Really? When'd he say that? And what'd he have to take care of?"

Kouga coughed. "Well, you see... he mentioned it this morning to Miroku and I... um, something about, uh... running a workshop?" 

"A workshop?" Kagome looked sceptical. Ayame also looked somewhat miffed.

Kouga looked really nervous now. "Yeah, a workshop...for kids. Uh, paper maché."

"Paper maché," Kagome said in a flat voice. The way it came out made it sound more like a statement than a question.

"Y-yes...but I've already said too much. The workshop was supposed to be top secret." Kouga's eyes flickered back and forth between the two girls on either side of him, looking as if he were crazy. "Don't give me that look; it's true!"

Kagome shook her head. "Let me get this straight. Inuyasha left in the middle of one of our runs without warning to go off somewhere to run a top secret paper maché workshop for kids?!" There was more than a little incredulity in Kagome's voice.

Kouga nodded. "Yep. Strange guy, eh?"

Kagome stared at him wordlessly.

"He didn't really come across as a kid person to me," Ayame said thoughtfully. "Are you sure?" she asked Kouga.

"Positive. Oh, look, it's time to get off! Better get going!" Kouga said as he practically leapt off the chairlift and skied frantically away.

"Hey, Kouga! Come back here! Ayame and I still have a few questions for you!"

~*~

"Okay, pretty good," Miroku said, smiling genuinely at Sango. "Used to jumping now? We can put in a few 'moves' now?"

Sango grinned. "I guess so. But let me warn you. Once you show me these 'moves,' I'm gonna be blowing you away."

Miroku snapped his fingers. "Well, there goes all my titles. I guess I should just hand over all my medals to you right now."

Sango stared at him. "You've gotten medals? You compete?"

Miroku shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. "Uh, here and there; yeah."

"Cool!" Her face brightened appreciatively. She then turned back to the jump they were facing. "Alright, show me the 'moves!'"

"Certainly," Miroku said.

Sango caught the suggestive tone in his voice and looked sharply at him. "Not THOSE moves," she said, glaring.

Miroku held up his hands. "Okay, okay."

For the next few jumps, they went over techniques and a few of the simpler jumps to master. By the time they reached the bottom, Sango was ready to go up again for more, but Miroku held her back. She looked questioningly at him.

"Dear Sango, I'd love to continue skiing with you, but I was wondering instead if I could enlist your help in picking out a birthday present for the lovely Kagome," Miroku explained.

Sango gave him a wry look. "Knowing you, I'd have thought you would go off and buy your own perverted gift for her."

"Yes, well," Miroku replied blandly. "Kouga and Inuyasha didn't seem to think that was such a good idea."

"Wonder why?" she asked dryly. "Alright, well, let's go hunting now so we can get back by lunch."

Miroku beamed at her. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. Okay, I think we can make it to my car without being ambushed by the reporters. They won't be as interested in us as they would be with Inuyasha and Kagome, and Kouga and Ayame, but they're still intrigued by us if those tabloids are anything to go by...not that I mind or anything."

Sango smacked him. "Bad thoughts!" she admonished him. "Just lead the way."

Miroku gave her a suffering look before turning and skiing back towards the condos. Once they'd gone to their respective condos and changed into normal clothes, they headed out to Miroku's car.

Glancing around to make sure no reporters were spying on them, Sango slipped into the passenger seat beside Miroku and they set out. Driving down into the town, they quickly found the mall and parked outside it.

As they looked up at the large complex before them, Sango warned ominously, "You'd better not make this difficult..."

~*~

"Jeez, do they not like us or something?" Kagome asked in exasperation. "Or is it a case of them liking each other too much?"

"Those comments are going to get you killed someday," Ayame warned. She shrugged. "I'm sure Sango and Miroku just found a new jump hill somewhere and are enjoying themselves. No biggie. They'll show up eventually."

"Meanwhile, I smell something pungent... and look! Speak of the devil, there's Dogstink there!" Kouga said, pointing towards an approaching Inuyasha who had a very displeased look on his face.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome said, spotting him. When he skied up to them, and she saw his expression, she added, "Who ate your 'cheery'os (cheerios) this morning?"

Inuyasha didn't respond but boarded the chairlift silently with the three of them.

"Oookay," Kagome said. "Workshop didn't go so well, huh?" She saw Kouga making a cutting motion across his neck. Right...it was supposed to be top secret...oh well.

Inuyasha looked up at her sharply and then saw Kouga's desperate look. He gritted his teeth and ground through them, "What workshop exactly?"

"Okay, I'm sorry. I know it was supposed to be top secret; but don't blame Kouga for telling. It was me who was wondering where you were so he couldn't really lie to me," Kagome said.

"Of course not," Inuyasha said, his voice still sounding a bit strained.

"But were the kids that bad? You seem to be in a fairly foul mood. They didn't try to paper maché you instead of their own projects, did they?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha made a sound akin to choking and he glared at Kouga for reasons other than what Kagome believed. "Oh, no," he spat. "It was their big mouths I had a bit of trouble with. You know they just didn't seem to know when to keep their traps shut." A meaningful glare was sent Kouga's way. "And they came up with the most insane, idiotic ideas," he ground out between clenched teeth.

"Well, too bad you didn't enjoy it," Kagome said, patting him comfortingly on the arm. "But at least you're out and skiing again."

"Yes, at least I have that. Now maybe I can TRY to regain a bit of my dignity..."

Kouga coughed and shifted in his seat. When they disembarked from the chairlift, he turned to Ayame. "What say you and I, uh, go in for lunch?"

"Already?" Kagome asked in surprise. "But it's only ten o'clock."

"I'm, um, suddenly ravenous, though," Kouga said uncomfortably.

"You're hungry, too, Ayame?" Kagome questioned.

"Uh, not particularly," Ayame responded.

"But you see," Kouga said, tugging discreetly on Ayame's arm. "I need some help picking something out to eat. I need her advice."

"Poutine," Ayame said instantaneously.

"Ah, I was thinking of something a bit more nutritious," Kouga replied quickly.

Ayame shrugged. "A small poutine."

"Something with less calories," Kouga said, trying not to get annoyed. Couldn't she get a clue? "The athlete's body needs quality food and a healthy diet."

"Am I supposed to be your nutritionist now or something?" Ayame joked.

Kouga sighed in exasperation before a thought hit him. "What would it look like to the public, Ayame, if we didn't show up together?"

A devilish grin spread across her face. "Oh, well, we wouldn't want them thinking that, now would we? Alright let's go."

"Finally," Kouga muttered, dragging her off and leaving two very bewildered people behind. "Okay, now let's head back to the condos."

"Huh?" Ayame asked, confused. "What for?"

"The reason I wanted you to 'pick out my lunch' was so that you could come and help me pick out a gift for Kagome's birthday," Kouga exploded exasperatingly. "That's why Inuyasha left, too, by the way. There was no top secret paper maché workshop for kids!"

Ayame was silent for a few moments and she followed slowly behind him. Then, "Kouga?"

"Yeah?"

"You're a REALLY bad liar."

~*~

"That was...an experience," Sango said carefully as she flopped on the couch in the boys' condo.

"I thought it was interesting, to say the least," Miroku said, sitting down heavily in an armchair.

"You would," Sango muttered. "Why'd do buy that staff anyway?"

"I told you. My grandfather likes antiques. When I saw it, there was no way I couldn't get it for him."

"But did you have to try and trip that old lady with it?"

"I didn't mean to! I didn't realize that it was sticking out so far! And what about that makeup scenario, huh, Sango?"

"That lady made me trip! You honestly can't blame that on me. That lady was out to get me, I tell you. I mean, why else would've she tried to stuff that stuff up my nose?!"

"Uh, I believe she was trying to show you her product, dear Sango."

"Still... What about in the food court? How could you?!"

"It was nothing, my sweet Sango. I simply asked the girl to supersize my meal."

"Yeah, right!" Sango scoffed. "Try her asking to supersize your meal and you saying, and I quote, 'Everything before me is already quite supersized, thank you.' I don't suppose you'd mind explaining that, eh?!"

"Am I detecting jealously, lovely Sango?"

"On your life! And if you ever tell anyone that, I won't hesitate to also tell them of the incident in the golf store!"

"Sango!" Miroku cried in a very indignant and shocked voice. "I thought we'd agreed we'd never mention that again!"

Sango sighed. "You're right. That's just too cruel. But you can be sure I won't hesitate to hit you. Hard."

"I suppose this is what they mean when they say love hurts," Miroku said with a suffering sigh.

Sango's scoff was his reply.

~*~

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Kouga said, driving Inuyasha's car into a parking spot. "Lunch?"

"How could I refuse?" Ayame asked. "I'm starving."

They walked into the fast food restaurant and immediately had all eyes on them.

"Oh, right!" Ayame muttered under her breath as she and Kouga quickly linked arms and smiled sweetly at the onlookers.

They made their way to the counter to order, smiles still plastered on their faces. The woman at the cash register gaped at them for a moment before straightening and asking for their order.

"Uh...two orders of the number one classic combos and...a chocolate milkshake," Kouga said, gazing up at the meal option slate.

"With two straws no doubt," the lady said, winking at them.

Kouga almost choked for a split second before regaining control of himself. "No doubt," he agreed in a strained voice.

After a few moments, their order was ready and they carried it to a table against a window. As they sat down, they noticed everyone in the restaurant still staring at them.

"Uh..."

They glanced nervously down at the milkshake between them sporting two straws. They looked up at each other and then at their audience who was watching expectantly.

"Heh, heh...okay, um..."

They started leaning down towards the drink and heard a shift of chairs as if the onlookers had leaned forward to get a better look.

"This is humiliating," Ayame said quietly. They suddenly collided heads. "Ow...how is this supposed to work anyway? There is not room for two heads down here."

"I don't know. Maybe if we just kinda...twist...or something?"

"Yeah...twist. That might work. Okay, I'll twist this way, you twist that way...good, good."

"You don't backwash or anything, do you?" Kouga asked, his mouth a centimetre away from his straw.

"No; you?" Ayame asked, frozen the same way.

"No. Okay, uh...let's get this over with."

"Right... But you know? Everyone's got to backwash at least somewhat. I mean, without even realizing it."

"Ayame," Kouga said in a warning tone. "You're making this harder than it has to be."

"Sorry! Sorry!"

"Ugh... How do people find this romantic?"

Ayame shrugged. "Beats me. Alright; one...two...three...drink!"

They both quickly took a sip before bolting upright in their seats, a cheer rising up in the background from their audience.

"Doesn't take much to amuse them, does it?" Ayame commented dryly.

"Apparently not," Kouga agreed. "Okay, from now on we alternate. That was way too awkward."

"Agreed," Ayame said. "Who knew drinking a milkshake took such intense strategic planning?"

Kouga shook his head. "I'll never underestimate one again."

~*~

"What's got you so grumpy?" Kagome pressed.

"Nothing," Inuyasha replied shortly. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just as cheery as before."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, right. I forgot how cheery a guy you were. ...The workshop really wasn't that bad, was it?"

Inuyasha made a noise in his throat that sounded suspiciously like a growl. "It was just fine," he spat. "Simply peachy. Couldn't have found greater people to waste my time on."

"Wow." Kagome blinked. "They really got to you, didn't they? Well, cheer up! You're in better company now."

"That could be debated," Inuyasha muttered.

Kagome heard him, however, and smacked him on the arm. "Jeez, don't take your problems out on me. I wasn't the reason you had to go to that thing."

Inuyasha looked like he wanted to say something to contradict her, but held his tongue. Instead, he gazed down at the snowy hill below the chairlift they were sitting in.

"I know what will get you out of your blues!" Kagome suddenly said. "Want to hear it?"

"Not particularly."

"A movie!"

"Joy."

"You guys can come over to our condo and we can watch one of the movies Ayame said she'd bring. Isn't that brilliant? Aren't you excited now?"

"Ecstatic."

"Me too! This is gonna be great!"

"Undoubtably."

~*~

Mrs. Higurashi hummed to herself as she wheeled her grocery cart down the aisle. Then she saw some microwavable dinners which reminded her of her daughter and her trip.

"Hmmm... I wonder how Kagome's making out? She hasn't phoned or anything, like she said she would. I wonder if she's even having a good time... If she doesn't phone me by the time her birthday comes around, that girl's going to get a serious talking to."

She continued muttering to herself as she grabbed her last item, a tub of ice cream, and started for the check out counter.

"It sure is lonely without her around and Souta constantly running off to Kohaku's. And she doesn't even phone...!"

She wheeled her cart into the check out aisle and began depositing her items on the counter. She glanced over at the tabloid selection before turning back to her task. Then she froze and her eyes darted back to stare blankly at a picture of her Kagome and a strange boy together. She reached a shaky hand out and grasped the offending tabloid and read the heading; 'Is this a match made in heaven?'

Mrs. Higurashi rubbed her eyes. They must be seeing things. She looked closer and distinctly read at the bottom of the page, 'Inuyasha Dareshi and Kagome Higurashi.'

A loud and shocked voice rang throughout the entire store.

"Kagome!?"

~*~

A/N Alrighty then, another chappie for ya. 

I do realize Kagome was acting slightly dense in this one, but we can't have her figuring it out, can we? Plus it made for a funny and awkward scenario for Inu and Kouga. ^_^

Whew, 200 reviews. I still can't believe it. You guys really don't know how much I love ya. I'd cook a whole bunch of cookies for you, but I don't think you'd be able to eat them over the internet. ^_~ And I'd invite you to my birthday party (yes, I know, a little late, but my knee was hurt! Still is...a bit.), but I don't think you'd exactly be able to get rides here. So sadly, all I can do is tell you how much I appreciate your reviews and thoughts, and shower you with more chapters. ^_^ So tell me your thoughts on this one, and don't forget to tell me your favourite parts! I love hearing from you guys. You brighten my day so much! ^_____^

Wow...I was sad at the top and now I'm happy at the bottom. Guess that lemon cake worked... Or maybe it's 'cause I just got my G1 yesterday. I can drive! (With a parent in the car, but we'll disregard that fact) I'm coming for pedestrians first! Mwuahahahahaha!!!!

Oi...I'm a little too happy. Okay I'm gonna go before I turn into a rambling freak. What? Too late? Oh, well! Catch ya later! ^_~


	16. A Phone Call and a Movie

Disclaimer: You're saying I have to say I don't own Inuyasha? Can I not and say I did?

A/N And I'm back! Again. As my break draws to a close... *sniff*

Oh, well! I am just as hyper as ever, which I view as a good thing, 'cause you can never be too hyper! ^________^

Ahem, anyways. Yes, the future doesn't look terribly bright for Kagome now, does it? Heh, heh, heh...read on to find out.

The consequences, Liza-Lizo? I'm not at liberty to divulge such information at this time... Don't worry, you'll most likely find out next chapter! ^_^

And yes, Fiery Love, this will be a complete Kouga/Ayame pairing, 'cause I've planned it from the start and I don't want them to be left out of finding their one true love. ^_~

And I just want to mention a few things about Miroku. I will try to make him somewhat more serious, but you guys will have to keep a few things in mind. He is slightly younger in my fic than he is on the show, his death is not at hand, there are no demons or enchantments to explain or be knowledgeable about, Inuyasha doesn't need love advice (as much) and life is pretty much going his way. Therefore, due to those reasons, he will also most likely have a tendency to be a little less serious than on the show. I'll do my best, but I don't want him to be out of character in relation to the setting of MY story.

*Sigh* I SUPPOSE I could dodge you on the roads, Angel Joy. But you'd have to hold a sign up or something with your name on it so I know it's you. ^_~ Way to be Canadian!

Yes, winters are long and cold up here, lilacks. We had some REALLY cold days this winter where I live, and snow still came down this morning.

Thanks for the pics, MoonLightWolf and Kogi Chan! I looked at them all so thankies muchos! Look for my email/messenger info in the bottom A/N 'cause this one's getting way too long! ^_~

Well...on with the chapter!

~*~

"Did you that most toothpaste contains antifreeze?"

"Amazing."

"And that most lipsticks contain fish scales?"

"I would want to know this, why...?"

"Did you know that most car horns honk in the key of F?"

"Never really wanted to..."

"And that teenagers say the word 'like' on an average of two hundred and fifty times a day?"

"And yet another useless fact."

Kagome sighed, exasperated. "Are you always this difficult?! Honestly, I'm just trying to start some conversation. You could at least help me out here!"

Inuyasha shrugged. "I'm not really in the mood for senseless chatter."

Kagome fumed. "Listen, you!" She turned to him on the chairlift and yanked on two locks of his silver hair.

"Ow!"

"Don't you insult me! I don't care what happened at that workshop, but you're not there anymore, so stop brooding about it! Cheer up and stop giving me the cold shoulder!" Kagome shouted in his face.

Inuyasha pried her grip from his hair, straightened, and crossed his arms. "Fine," he sulked.

After a few minutes of complete silence, Kagome spoke up, irritated, "And your attitude would be changing...when?"

"When I get away from you," Inuyasha grumbled.

"And there you go again!" Kagome said, throwing her hands up. "If you don't stop, I'll just go back to my condo!"

"You can't just up and go back!" Inuyasha snarled. "You have to stay here!"

"What for?!"

"Uh...so you can keep me company!" Inuyasha shot back.

"Is that all I'm good for?!" Kagome yelled. "Besides, you're not exactly being very good company yourself right now!"

"Stop getting on my case! I'm in a bad mood!"

"How bad can a bunch of kids be?!"

Inuyasha growled. "If only you knew..."

"I would if you would tell me!"

"Forget it," Inuyasha said as they disembarked from the chairlift.

"Fine," Kagome huffed. "I'm going back then!"

"No!" Inuyasha said, getting desperate. "I'll, uh...um...er...continue your ski lesson!"

"Being as big a jerk as your being right now?" Kagome asked, eyeing him carefully.

"No...?" Inuyasha said uncertainly.

"Good answer! Let's go!" Kagome said, exuberant once again, and skied for the nearest run.

Inuyasha watched her go with a miffed expression. "Girls..." was the best answer he could come up with as he followed her.

~*~

"What are you two doing here?" Kouga asked Sango and Miroku as he and Ayame entered the boys' condo.

"Well..." Miroku began.

Sango cut him off with a glare. "Remember the roller blade accident?"

Miroku cringed. "You were just as much at fault as I was, Sango."

"Uh..." Ayame said as she and Kouga looked uncertainly between the two.

"Perhaps it's better left unsaid," Miroku said. "But, all kidding aside, we went to get my present for Kagome's birthday, and we just recently got back. You?"

"Same," Kouga said casually, flopping on the couch beside Sango.

"Do you think she's beginning to suspect anything?" Sango asked nervously.

Ayame giggled. "Not likely. Especially after Kouga, master liar extraodinaire, spun a tale so believable as to completely cloud her judgement and sense of viability," Ayame said with a flourish.

"Hey! It was a good excuse...well, okay, maybe it sucked...but it still worked!" Kouga protested.

"What was it?" Sango asked in confusion.

Ayame couldn't stop giggling and so with an annoyed look shot her way, Kouga explained, "When Kagome asked why Inuyasha disappeared, I couldn't exactly say he went off to buy her a birthday present, so I came up with an excuse. I told her that he went off to run a top secret paper maché workshop for kids."

Sango and Miroku stared at him a moment before, "And...she believed you?" Miroku asked.

"Well...she was a bit sceptical at first, but when Inuyasha backed me up-"

"Inuyasha backed you up?" Sango asked in disbelief.

"Well...sorta...he had no choice, really..."

"Oi..." Sango said, rubbing her temples. "We're gone for just an hour or so and you come up with this...!"

"Yeah, well...I bet you couldn't have done any better!" Kouga retorted.

"How about he went in for some sort of meeting or something? Like with Myouga?" Sango suggested.

"Oh, well...whatever," was Kouga's clever reply.

"We'd better head back out now, though," Miroku said. "Kagome may have bought that, but if we just suddenly all disappear and never come back, then what will she think?"

"Besides, right now she's stuck being alone with Inuyasha, who's in a decidedly bad mood," Ayame spoke up.

Everyone glanced uneasily at one another, then shuddered.

"Let's go!"

"Poor girl!"

"Gotta save her!"

"I wonder if she's still alive...?"

~*~

"Good. You're starting to carve nicely. Now get your hands forward, stay over your skis, and keep your body facing down the hill instead of turning it in the direction your skis are going," Inuyasha instructed.

Kagome tried to process all of this new information. "Oookay," she said as she pushed off. She skied down, trying to keep everything he had taught her in her mind and applying it. 

She could already feel a change in her skiing from before Inuyasha had begun to teach her. Even though he was often nothing more than a jerk, she couldn't help but feel extremely grateful towards him. This new way of skiing was a lot more enjoyable than whatever she'd been doing before and it gave her an amazing sense of freedom.

Reaching the bottom, Kagome skidded to a halt by swinging her skis around to the side and waited for Inuyasha. She watched him fly down the hill, once again marvelling at his skill.

When he reached her, he stopped and lifted his goggles up to place them on his forehead. "Alright, that should do it for today," he said, indicating the nearby condos. "Let's go in."

Kagome nodded happily and skied with him towards the boys' condo. It seemed that Inuyasha's bad mood had dissipated when they had begun the lessons; his love of skiing had caused him to forget whatever had been plaguing him previously.

Once Inuyasha had changed into some normal clothes and shoes, they headed over to the girls' condo, Kagome skiing and Inuyasha walking. They reached their destination and headed inside. Kagome changed while Inuyasha flipped through some channels on the TV. Kagome came out a few minutes later and flopped down beside him. He currently had it on a documentary of himself.

"Inuyasha Dareshi is currently tied for first in FIS points with Naraku Querei. It will be a tough competition and both competitors will have to be on their toes. Dareshi currently hasn't lost a single race, an amazing feat for a skier so young against so many older and more experienced racers. Perhaps this is a sign that he will follow his father's example and maybe even surpass-"

The voice abruptly cut off as Inuyasha hastily changed the channel.

"Hey!" Kagome protested. "I was listening to that!"

"Yeah, well, it was boring anyway," Inuyasha said, attempting to appear nonchalant.

"What was it saying about your father?" she pressed.

"Nothing," Inuyasha said shortly.

"Hmph," Kagome said, crossing her arms and glaring back at the TV screen. "Hey! It may have been boring to you, but at least it was better than the Discovery Channel! Give me that remote!"

"No!" Inuyasha refused as Kagome began reaching for the device in his hand.

"Give it to me!" she said, practically falling on him as he held it out of her reach.

"Ack! No! Mine!" He started falling sideways on the couch, Kagome on top of him.

"Give!"

"No!

"Mine!"

"Mine!"

"Let me have it!"

"No! Min-"

Inuyasha was cut off abruptly when the door of the condo opened and their four other friends stomped in.

"Where have you be-oh..." Sango's irritated expression soon turned to understanding as she took in Kagome practically lying on Inuyasha on the couch.

"Ah," Miroku said, looking from them to the TV where the Discovery Channel was still on. "It appears that they are taking after that song that talks about being mammals and doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel."

Kagome looked down and locked eyes with Inuyasha before they both scooted backwards and to opposite ends of the couch, blushing furiously.

"Stupid lech," Inuyasha muttered. "We were just fighting over the remote."

"Speaking of which!" Kagome said, instantly forgetting the embarrassing moment. "You still haven't given it to me!"

"Like I will!" Inuyasha shot back.

"Hey!" Kagome got up and started towards him.

Inuyasha saw her coming and leapt up from the couch, hastily retreating.

"Come back here!" Kagome said, running after him.

"Not likely!" Inuyasha said, laughing as he led her in circles around the couch.

"When do you think the wedding will be?" Sango asked innocently to the others.

Kagome skidded to a halt and turned to glare at her. "Why you...!" She charged at Sango and another tussle broke out between the two.

As Ayame attempted to pry Kagome off of Sango, the phone rang beside Inuyasha.

"Um...your phone's ringing," he said stupidly and pointing at it.

"So...answer it..." Ayame panted as she redoubled her efforts. Kouga and Miroku seemed content to watch.

"Okay..." Inuyasha said, reaching for the phone. "Hello?" He had to hold the receiver away from his ear as the loud voice of a woman screeched across the line.

"Who is this?!"

"Uh...Inuyasha Dareshi," Inuyasha responded.

"Oh, so YOU'RE the one, eh?!"

"Uh..."

"What are you doing in my daughter's condo!?"

"Uh...hanging out...?"

"Who do you think you are, young man?!"

"Inuyasha Dareshi."

"Oh, a smart one, I see. Let me talk to my daughter!"

"Daughter?"

"Kagome! The one you're about to smooch in all those photos!"

"Oh, Kagome... Wait! What?!"

"Let me talk to her!"

"But-"

"Now!"

Inuyasha fumed silently and shoved the phone in Kagome's direction, finally taking in all the stares he was receiving from the other occupants of the room.

"For me?" Kagome asked meekly, getting up off of Sango. She shuffled forward, reaching an arm out for the phone. "My-my mom?"

Inuyasha nodded. "Go nuts. I think she saw the tabloids."

"Great..." Kagome muttered. Then, into the phone, she said brightly, "Hi, mom!"

"Who is that boy?!"

"Oh, him? He's just a boy I met out here, along with his friends, Kouga and Miroku. They've been hanging out with Ayame, Sango and I for the past, uh, four days. Inuyasha saved me from a groomer and an icy hill filled with moguls. These reporters are following him and Kouga, though, 'cause they're really good ski racers and they're going to be in this big ski race competition next week. So they follow us around they take all of these pictures of us when it looks like there's something going on between us when they're really isn't and then they put them in tabloids and make it seem like we're a couple! So there's really nothing going on and you probably just saw one of the fake tabloids, but there's nothing to worry about, 'cause nothing's going on!" Kagome finished with a false smile.

"Oh..." There was a pause on the other line. "Well...Why haven't you phoned me?! Why was it I had to find out about you hanging out with these boys through tabloids?!"

"Uh...heh, heh, heh...I guess I kinda, uh...forgot?" Kagome said with a nervous laugh.

"Are you sure nothing's going on between you and that young man, Kagome?" her mother's voice rang clear through the condo. "How did you get so distracted as to forget to phone your own mother?"

"Mom!" Kagome protested at the insinuation, more pink tinting her cheeks. "They're just friends! It's just that we've been having a lot of fun and so I kinda...yeah..."

"Oh," Mrs. Higurashi's voice seemed to hold almost a disappointed note. "Well, he seems like a nice young man," she added helpfully.

"Wha...?" Kagome said, the pink on her cheeks darkening as she pointedly avoided looking at Inuyasha. "But I thought you said..."

"Oh, I never said I disapproved," her mother said cheerfully.

"Huh?"

"I'm sorry it came across that way; it's just that I was a little upset over how you failed to call me and mention it to me. But I don't mind as long as you PHONE me in the future and let me know how things are going. I don't want to have to learn about my daughter's private life from media gossip instead of her own mouth!"

"Okay, mom," Kagome responded meekly. "But Inuyasha and I are just-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure, dear. Now you run along, and don't forget to phone me on your birthday. You're having a good time, yes?"

"The best, mom! It is sooo fun!" Kagome squealed. "And Inuyasha's giving me ski lessons and this hill is so awesome and this was the best birthday present ever!"

"I'm glad you're enjoying it. Now you're probably holding up your boyfriend and his friends now, so I'll just say good-bye and talk to you on your birthday!"

"But, mom, he's not my-"

"Bye!" There was a click and the phone went dead.

Kagome slowly replaced the phone on the receiver and turned to her friends. Inuyasha was looking anywhere than at her, his cheeks just as luminous, and the others were doing their best not to laugh. It was safe to say they were failing miserably, judging by the fact that Sango was still on the ground, this time laughing her head off, Ayame was leaning on Kouga for support while Miroku leaned on the wall, and Kouga had tears in his eyes as he pointed at the mortified "couple."

Inuyasha and Kagome mechanically walked over to the couch, sat down and stared straight ahead as their friends tried desperately to smother their laughter.

When their friends' laughter died down to mere random giggles and chuckles, Kagome said firmly, "Ayame. Dinner. You're making it. Your movie. We're watching it."

Still giggling, Ayame stumbled into her room to retrieve one of her movies that she had brought. She came back out a few moments later and stuck the tape in the VCR. Before starting it, however, she led the other laughing individuals into the kitchen to prepare a meal. After eating the spaghetti they made, everyone trudged back into the TV room to watch the movie.

"What movie?" Miroku asked as he made a point to sit beside Sango when she plopped down on a couch separate from the one Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting on together.

Ayame shrugged. "My mom got it for me just before we left. Some old thriller."

"Sounds cool," Sango said.

Kouga and Ayame sat down on the couch with Sango and Miroku seeing as it was the more spacious one out of the two.

The movie started and soon jumped into the main action. When the suspenseful music started up the first time and the killer leapt out of the shadows, Kagome let out a squeal and latched onto Inuyasha's arm. He glanced down at it, but didn't mention anything. ...Until she began to cut off his circulation.

"Uh, Kagome? Kagome?!" he said, waving his other hand in front of her face to get her attention off of the murder in front of her. "I can't feel my arm anymore."

"Oh! Sorry," she apologized, loosening her hold, but not removing it. They turned back to the screen.

At the second murder, Sango reached out without thinking and grasped Miroku's hand. When she realized what she had done, she began to withdraw it, but was stopped when Miroku squeezed her hand gently. She looked up at him in surprise and he gave her a genuine smile that made her heart skip a beat. Maybe her hand could stay joined with his a moment longer...

Meanwhile, Kouga and Ayame could barely contain their laughter.

"Oh, oh!" Kouga chortled. "Here comes the ominous music again! Come on, you just don't keep walking when that music comes on. I mean, you KNOW you're in trouble when it starts up. ...You're not turning back? Oh, well, that's it! You're dead!" he said, throwing up his hands as if the woman on the screen was a lost cause. Sure enough, the killer soon jumped her and slit her throat. Him and Ayame burst out laughing again while the others tried their best to ignore them and the morbid sight on the screen.

"No, no! Don't go in there!" Ayame cried at the TV. "It's dark and deserted! Obviously you're not going to live to see another day if you do! Oh, and there's the music! ...And there's the killer...oh, and look! You're dead... Hey! That killer's probably that dude who got ripped off in the beginning, out for vengeance."

"Stands to reason," Kouga agreed, then laughed with her when the ominous music rose to a crescendo.

As the movie drew to a close, it was discovered that the killer was indeed who Ayame had predicted. As she stopped the tape and began to rewind it, she stood up and stretched. "Ahhh...that was a good movie, eh, guys? I needed a good laugh."

She was greeted with glares coming from everyone but Kouga.

Meanwhile, Miroku was attempting to pry his crippled hand from Sango's death grip. "Ahhh...you're stronger than you look, my dear Sango," he said as he finally succeeded and looked at his white, bloodless hand.

Sango saw the result of her constant squeezing and gasped. "Oh, my gosh! Sorry Miroku! I didn't mean-pervert!" she screeched as she felt his good hand feel her up as she was distracted. "Urgh! You're impossible!" She slapped him and stomped up to her room, muttering, "And things were going so good, too..."

Kagome didn't even make a comment as she passed, still cuddled up next to Inuyasha and latched onto him like a security item, her face buried in his shoulder.

"Uh...Kagome?" Inuyasha said as he looked down at her girl. He blinked. "Kagome?" When she didn't respond, he poked her in the head.

"Ahhhhhh!! ...Huh? Oh... Oh! It's over...?" she said, looking up at him.

"Yeah..." Inuyasha said. "You okay?"

She smiled up at him. "Yup; I'm okay. But I think I might go to bed now...assuming I can get to sleep, that is. Thanks for the...you know..." she finished awkwardly, indicating his rumpled arm.

"Uh...no problem..."

Suddenly, they both remembered Mrs. Higurashi's words and the discomfort returned full blast.

"Uh..."

"So..."

"I guess, um..."

"Good night...?"

"Yeah, good night..."

"I'll, uh, see ya tomorrow, then."

Inuyasha smirked at this. "Oh, yes. I'll definitely see you tomorrow. And we'll have lots of...fun."

Kagome watched suspiciously as he made his way toward the condo door with Kouga and Miroku. "Just what is he up to...?"

~*~

A/N Well, that's that chapter. Perhaps not quite as much humour, but maybe the beginning of new relationships, eh? Heh, heh, heh...definitely watch out for the next two chapters. They shall be masterpieces...

Oh, boy. *snicker* I couldn't resist the scene with Kagome threatening to 'go back' and Inuyasha not wanting to let her. Remind you of a certain scenario?

I'll just warn you now that I'll most likely continue to insinuate things that relate back to the show. I've already done it a few times (ex. "That's got to be the fastest boy I've ever seen!" -reference to Kouga's ridiculous speed with his shikon shard legs) and there are some opportunities I can't resist. Tell me if you can spot them as we go. ^_~ It'll be like a game!

Okay, I just got Yahoo messenger and my ID for that is super_ceech@yahoo.ca. Haven't tried it out yet so here's hoping it works! *crosses fingers* If it doesn't work, I'll try making an account at yahoo.com, but for now, that's what it is. I'm also attempting to get my MSN back up and running (I haven't been using it for so long, my ID's kinda expired), but I need to meet some requirements on my computer first so not sure when that'll happen. I'll let you know when I get it back, though.

And that goes for anyone wanting to talk to me on that messenger, 'cause I luv talking to new people! ^____^ Just stick my ID on your list and give me a shout. I'd love to hear from you! ^_^

I also have some email addresses you can contact; three to be exact. -_-' The one I use the most frequently is goldenretriever6@yahoo.ca, but I also have super_ceech@yahoo.ca and satanika66@hotmail.com. So just contact me 'cause it'd be uber neat to talk to all of you as well. ^_~

Oh, and watch out for a fun little one-shot I'm hoping on getting out today. It is the ultimate alternate ending to Inuyasha. Naraku's been defeated and it comes down to the choice between Kikyo and Kagome. Who will Inuyasha choose? It's a humour/parody and it'll be unlike anything anyone else has done. It's the way I think it should end, lol. It's gonna be funny, not dramatic, so I hope you check it out. ^_~

Wow; I think this A/N is even longer than the one at the top. Oh, and don't worry about sending me longer reviews, people. I love them the best and, as you can see, I'm a master rambler myself. Eh heh...well, talk to ya later! Hopefully the next chapter will be out sometime next weekend. ^_^ Buh-byez!


	17. Fluffy On Ice

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but I don't particularly want to right now. He's being a jerk in the episodes I'm watching. Sheesh, choosing Kikyo...what IS he thinking?

A/N Hey, hey, peoples! I am back with yet another chappie! Yay!

Okay, a few things to say today.

Casavenna and Shiny Lights, yes, people in thrillers can be VERY stupid sometimes. *shakes head* It's like an art, really.

Rogue Taiji-ya, I pity you. I had to dissect a rat this year, which I thought I would NEVER do in a million years. In a way, I kept that policy, because I got my partner to do all the dissecting as I did the written work. Great things, partners are. ^_~

Yes, Skiddy16, I am indeed Canadian, and proud of it. And I see the episodes 'cause they play them on the YTV channel. Do you get that one?

Angel of Joy, I actually think that the fact some people believe we live in igloos is quite hilarious. Because, then, if you meet one, you can say something like, "Yes, we're in the middle of renovating our two story igloo." Then, if they actually believe you, you're in for some fun. ^_~

It is now Friday, story wise, and, yes, the day of Inu's great gift, Inukagonly.

I actually own October Sky, lilacks. I agree with you; it's a great movie.

Yes, bonessasan, the fun begins this chapter. Mwuahahahahaha.....

Ah, THAT'S why it felt so familiar to me as I was writing it, sleepwalking chicken and HAP. I was, like, I've heard this dialogue somewhere before, but where...? Not really intentional, but I'll give The Lion King the credit for it. ^_~

And this goes for everyone! I now have AIM as well. My screen name is...Super Ceech! (Surprise, surprise) Just add me to your list and then give me a shout when I'm on; I love talking to you guys. And Kogi Chan, I have an MSN account, but I can't yet run it on my computer, so until I can, I probably won't be online with it. But, for reference, it's satanika66@hotmail.com.

Alright, lots of babbling; wasn't that fun? I'd just like to dish out some credit to my friend Spacewolf for helping me develop some events in this chapter and in the next one. She's got some pretty funny fics, too, if you want to go check them out (I recommend it!). Now on with the chapter!

~*~

Kagome rubbed her eyes sleepily and headed downstairs to see what all the noise was that had woken her up. She had been happily asleep when the sound of voices had roused her out of her slumber. She stumbled out of bed in her baggy pajama bottoms and tank top. Then she groggily made her way towards the source of the disturbance, noting the time of 8:30am on the watch still around her wrist from the night before. She continued on her way.

She came to a full stop, however, when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Before her were Sango and Ayame, also in their pajamas, talking to Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga, who were fully dressed in normal clothes.

"Hey, Kagome!" Kouga greeted her upon noticing her arrival.

"Uh..." Kagome said in complete and utter confusion. "Wha...?" She looked to Sango and Ayame for an explanation.

Sango shrugged. "Don't ask me. They just showed up a few minutes ago. They won't explain anything."

"Oh..." Kagome said, just as confused as ever. She looked at the boys.

Miroku and Kouga seemed to nudge Inuyasha forward, who looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, perplexed.

"Uh...well, you see..." Inuyasha stuttered as he approached. "Well, it's your birthday tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah..." Kagome replied, not seeing where he was going with this.

"Well...here," he said shortly, shoving a small box towards her. It was crudely wrapped in wrapping paper, with a small red bow perched on top. Once it was safely within her grasp, he pointedly turned his head away from her and refused to meet her gaze.

"For me?!" Kagome asked incredulously. When Inuyasha nodded, still without looking at her, she said the only thing she could think of with her jumbled thoughts, "But...it's a day early."

"Just open it already," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Okay..." Kagome said, tearing off the bow and wrapping paper. She opened the box and then almost dropped it in surprise. "Inu...Inu...yasha..."

Inuyasha snapped his head back around to look at her with almost a panicked expression on his face. "What?! Don't you like it?!" he asked almost frantically.

"Oh...my...gosh!! Inuyasha!" Kagome cried out in shock "Six tickets to the ice dance competition today!? And two passes to go in behind the arena to meet the skaters...?!"

"Yeah..." Inuyasha responded, rubbing the back of his neck. "I could only manage to get two..."

"This is incredible! I love you!" Kagome squealed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him for all she was worth. Once he'd recovered from the shock, Inuyasha hesitantly returned the hug.

"It's a Kodak moment," Miroku said, wiping a fake tear away from his eye. Sango snorted as Inuyasha and Kagome jumped apart quickly. Kouga and Ayame chuckled.

"Shut up," Inuyasha snapped, a faint pink staining his cheeks.

"So when are we going?" Kagome asked, excited once more as she turned to him.

"Well...as soon as you're ready, I guess," Inuyasha responded.

Kagome squealed once again, then grabbed Ayame and Sango to drag them upstairs. "Come on, guys! There's no time to lose!"

The guys looked at each other as the girls disappeared from view. "So..." Kouga started. "What do we do while we wait?"

Miroku shrugged. "TV?"

"TV," Inuyasha agreed.

The three boys went over to one of the couches in front of the television and flopped down on it. They flicked it on and waited for the girls to finish getting ready.

About half an hour later, the girls flounced down, clad in jeans and long sleeved shirts. They went into the kitchen and began to grab simple breakfasts of cereal and toast.

As soon as they finished up and brushed their teeth, the girls grabbed their purses, and the guys, and they all headed out the door.

"Let's take my van," Kagome suggested. "It'll fit all of us in it."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Sure, if I get to drive."

"What makes you so special?" Kagome asked defensively.

"Do you know how to get there?" Inuyasha asked pointedly.

"Oh...well...whatever," Kagome replied, shoving her keys towards him.

They all hopped into van and Inuyasha started the engine. They drove out of the ski resort and off to what Kagome assumed was the direction of the ice arena.

Kagome was practically bouncing in her seat the whole way there. "Ooooh, I can't wait, I can't wait! This is the awesomest present ever, Inuyasha! ...But how did you manage to pay for six tickets PLUS passes to go to the back of the arena?"

Inuyasha assumed an uncomfortable expression mixed with one of distaste. "Uh...let's just say I have...uh, connections..." Inuyasha said, his eyes shifty.

Kagome regarded him a moment longer before turning back to the road ahead of her. "What kind of connections?" she asked innocently.

Inuyasha didn't respond, but kept his eyes on the road ahead, his jaw clenched tightly.

"Fine, then," Kagome huffed. A moment later, however, she sighed and said dreamily, "I love ice dancing. This is so awesome! This is gonna be great! It's the best birthday present ever!"

"I though your family's gift of sending you up here for two weeks was the best birthday present ever," Sango reminded her.

"Oh...well...they're kinda equal," Kagome said awkwardly.

Inuyasha grinned in spite of himself.

"Are we there yet?" Kagome demanded impatiently.

"Yep," Inuyasha said, pulling into the parking lot of an enormous arena.

"Wow," Kagome breathed.

They all clambered out of the van and Inuyasha passed the keys back to Kagome. She automatically locked it, then turned back to him. Grabbing his hand, she exclaimed, "Come on! Let's go!"

"Hey! I'm coming!" Inuyasha replied irritably, though he didn't pull his hand away from hers. The four others followed behind, amused.

They entered the arena and presented their tickets to the door man. They were ushered towards the ice rink and they quickly searched for a suitable spot to sit. Finding a few empty seats in the middle, they squeezed through the already present crowds to reach their destination. Sitting down, they noticed a few skaters practising and warming up out on the ice. After a few minutes, however, they all cleared away to prepare for the competition.

Kagome squirmed in her seat and poked Inuyasha's arm. "This is so exciting! Thank you sooo much, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha felt his cheeks warm slightly, but tossed his head and said, "Keh. It was nothing," in an uncaring tone.

Kagome smiled at his reaction, but said nothing. She turned back to the rink as the competition started.

The first pair to skate were decent, but nothing spectacular. The music was somewhat dull, and Kagome wished it would speed up, or their dance would become more interesting. When they finished, they were judged; okay marks, but it was obvious they wouldn't be taking home the gold that day.

The next pair had a jazzier tune, and they're dance was more upbeat. Kagome soon found her head bobbing to the music and her eyes rivetted on the couple. They finished in a spectacular pose and the crowds cheered their approval.

After a few more numbers, Kagome glanced down at her pass, then nudged Inuyasha. "Hey, when are we gonna be able to use these?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Whenever you want. We can go now if you'd like."

"Really?! Oh, oh, let's go now! Pleeeease?" she pleaded.

"Sure," Inuyasha responded. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and lead her out of the mass of fans, pausing only to inform their friends where they were going.

When they finally pushed their way out of the rink and past the security guards, they began walking down the empty corridor towards the change rooms.

"Wow, you sure seem to know where you're going," Kagome commented to Inuyasha as he led her along.

"Yeah, well, you get used to it after a while," was his curt response.

"Huh?" Kagome asked in confusion. Inuyasha didn't say anything more, but stopped before a large green door. Pushing it open, he beckoned her inside.

"You sure we're allowed to just barge in like this?" Kagome asked as she tentatively entered. She noticed no one seemed to be in the room.

Inuyasha smirked. "Positive."

"This is so neat," Kagome said, taking in all the costumes hung up on various racks in the room. There was a table with makeup, brushes and hair accessories scattered all over it and benches hugging the walls all around the room.

"Yeah, just magnificent." Kagome noticed that Inuyasha's bitter tone was back again.

"Brother! Pass me my eyeshadow!"

Kagome spun around at the sound of the new masculine voice. In the entrance of an adjoining room stood a tall man of about twenty years of age. He had silver hair, similar to Inuyasha's, bound up behind his head by chopsticks and his piercing golden eyes, almost identical to Inuyasha's, were fixed on the skier. He was garbed in an outfit that appeared to be a replica of one worn in the feudal era of Japan, and a gigantic white, fluffy...thing...was draped over his right shoulder.

Kagome tried to move her mouth, but no sound came out except a small squeak. "B-brother?"

The man turned his gaze upon her and commented nonchalantly, "Oh, I see you brought the girl after all."

"I-Inuyasha?" Kagome asked uncertainly.

Inuyasha was glaring daggers at the man before them and explained tightly, "This, Kagome, is my half-brother, Sesshoumaru."

"Good to see you too, HALF-brother," Sesshoumaru replied scathingly.

Kagome could feel the tension rise as the half-brothers glared at each other. She was at a loss as to what to do when all of a sudden, a bubbly voice piped up from behind Sesshoumaru. "Is that Inuyasha, Fluffy? Let me see him!"

Sesshoumaru stepped out of the doorway to allow a girl about Kagome's age to race through and trap Inuyasha in a tight embrace. When she pulled back, Kagome noticed she was clothed in a kimono of feudal Japan, although it ended as a miniskirt instead of being full length. Her shoulder length brown hair was tied up in a high ponytail and she had a smile spread across her features.

"Uh, Rin," Inuyasha said, clearly uncomfortable from the hug. "You saw me yesterday."

Rin shrugged. "So? Can't I hug a friend once in a while?"

"I suppose..." Inuyasha said, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Suddenly, Rin noticed Kagome standing somewhat to the side. "Hi! I'm Rin!" she said, sticking her hand out towards the startled girl.

"Uh, hey," Kagome said, extending her own hand to grip and shake the girl's. "I'm Kagome."

"Oh, so you're the friend Inuyasha was talking about yesterday," the girl said in understanding.

"Uh..." Kagome looked at Inuyasha uncertainly.

"They're my 'connections.' I came here to get the tickets yesterday," Inuyasha explained. Then he sneered. "Not to some stupid 'top secret paper maché workshop for kids!'"

"Oh...this is weird," Kagome stated. She turned to Sesshoumaru. "You're his brother?"

"Half-brother," Sesshoumaru confirmed.

"Right, whatever. And...oh!" Kagome exclaimed, taking in the new arrivals' peculiar outfits. "You two," Kagome indicated Sesshoumaru and Rin, "are competing today, aren't you?!"

"Yes..." Sesshoumaru said.

"Yeah," Inuyasha cut in tauntingly. "He's here for his nice little ice ballet."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at his half-brother. "By the way, brother, how's your spandex sport coming along?"

Inuyasha grabbed the previously asked for eyeshadow and chucked it at his brother's head in anger. Sesshoumaru calmly caught it, however, and sauntered back out the doorway from which he'd entered.

Rin smiled at Kagome. "We're up soon so we're just finishing getting ready," she said.

Kagome noted her undisturbed reaction. "Are they like this all the time?" she asked, referring to Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.

Rin nodded cheerfully. "Yup! Every single time they meet. But you can tell they're really close," she said, winking at Kagome.

"Take that back, Rin!" the two brothers growled simultaneously, Sesshoumaru's voice carrying in from the other room. 

Rin laughed as she got the reaction she'd intended and she flounced over to a pair of discarded skates. She tugged them on her feet and began tying up the laces. When she finished, she staggered out to the adjoining room where Sesshoumaru was.

Kagome's eyes brightened as yet another realization dawned on her. "Oh! This is why you were in such a bad mood yesterday!" Kagome said accusingly to Inuyasha. "Because of your brother! And you took it out on me!"

"Wouldn't you be in a bad mood if you had to deal with that guy?!" Inuyasha snapped. "Asking him for a favour, no less."

He expected her to become angry at how he had treated her the day before, but instead, her face lit up. "And you went to him anyway? Even though you hate him? You put up with him for me?" Kagome asked happily.

Inuyasha blanched. "What?! Uh, no! Keh, I had to come anyway! I just wanted some company, that's all! Why would I go through all that trouble just for you?!"

Kagome stepped back as if she'd been slapped and her lip began to tremble. As tears brimmed in her eyes at the harsh comment, Inuyasha grew panicked.

"Hey...hey! Don't go cry on me!" he said, a horrified expression on his face.

Kagome turned from him and her shoulders began to shake.

Inuyasha couldn't take it any longer. "Okay, okay! ...I did do it for you. It was gonna be your birthday and I noticed how excited you were when you saw that poster so I came here to bug Sesshoumaru for a discount on some tickets. Now will you please stop crying...?" he asked desperately.

Kagome slowly turned towards him, brushing a few stray tears from her face. "Do you really mean that?" she asked weakly.

"...Yes," Inuyasha said quietly.

Kagome smiled brilliantly at him through her tears. "Thank you," she said, going up and hugging him for the second time that day. He relaxed and returned the embrace less hesitantly than he had that morning.

When she pulled back, Inuyasha grasped her hand. "Come on. Let's go back to the rink to see their number."

Kagome nodded and allowed him to lead her out the door and back towards their friends. When they reached them, Miroku opened his mouth to comment on their joined hands, but was clobbered by Sango before a word escaped his lips.

"Don't ruin it, moron," she whispered fiercely. "Besides," she said, grinning evilly. "There'll be plenty of time to tease them about it later." She let out a dark chuckle.

Meanwhile, a small portion of the crowd around Kouga and Ayame had ripped their eyes away from the ice dancing to stare at the "couple."

"Oh, Kouga!" Ayame sighed blissfully. "It was sooo nice of you to bring me here! You're too good to me!"

"Anything for you, my sweet Ayame," Kouga replied, taking a page out of Miroku's book. "I would go to the ends of the earth and back again just to see your smile!"

The crowd cooed and purred appreciatively as Ayame and Kouga stared into each other's eyes, trying with all their will power not to laugh.

"What exactly is the definition of 'the ends of the earth and back again?'" Ayame asked quietly through her sappy smile.

"Beats me," Kouga replied, his lips hardly moving. "But it sounded impressive, didn't it?"

"Oooh, look, guys! Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru, and Rin are up next!" Kagome's voice broke through their moment.

Sango and Ayame looked over at her in shock. "Inuyasha's brother?!"

They were hardly heard, however, as the roar of the crowd increased to deafening heights. They all looked over to see Sesshoumaru and Rin skating into the arena and assuming their beginning pose. The music of "Butterfly," started up, and Sesshoumaru and Rin sprang into action.

The woman singing of searching all across Japan for her samurai complimented their costumes perfectly and their dance was amazing.

They nailed all of their axles, sow cows and toe loops, and their lifts were perfect. It was a comical piece and entrancing at the same time. They ended the dance in the very center of the rink, embracing.

The crowds screamed their approval, especially any female teenagers in the audience. The roar doubled, however, when Rin reached up and plucked the chopsticks out of Sesshoumaru's hair. His long silver hair flowed down his back and billowed out behind him. There were a few thuds heard throughout the arena as several girls fainted, including one of the judges.

"You better not be falling for him, too," Kouga grumbled loudly to Ayame.

"You know there could never be anyone for me but you!" Ayame declared, placing her head on his shoulder and gazing up at him. Anyone who wasn't completely distracted by the recently finished ice dancing pair cooed at the devoted and loving couple.

After the overwhelmed judge recovered, their marks were announced; top marks across the board. Roses and other types of flowers were thrown down to the pair as they bowed and curtseyed. A pair of panties even landed at Sesshoumaru's feet, and, even paler than normal, he grabbed Rin by the elbow and skated as quickly as he could out of the rink.

Sango, Kagome and Miroku burst out laughing at this, and even Inuyasha had to smirk. "Sucker," he muttered. "Glad it's not me down there."

"Do you get that type of thing too?" Kagome asked him, trying not to laugh.

"Sometimes worse," Inuyasha shuddered. "Why don't people just keep their underwear and declarations of their undying love to you to themselves?!" he asked despairingly to no one in particular. "Stupid rabid fangirls..."

Kagome couldn't help herself and began to laugh.

"Hey! I thought you were on my side! It's not funny! It's scary!" Inuyasha snapped grumpily.

Kagome laughed harder. "Oooh, big, brave, tough Inuyasha's all afraid of the little teenage girls!"

"If you were me, you would be too! There not girls, I tell you; they're monsters! And they outnumber me..." He crossed his arms and glared down at the rink where a new ice dance pair began their number.

"The whole world's against you, huh?" Kagome said teasingly.

"No. Just the female half of the population," Inuyasha retorted.

"Even the senior portion of females?" Kagome chortled.

Inuyasha shuddered again. "Don't remind me!"

Kagome giggled and turned back to the performance. There were a few more numbers, but none matched up to Sesshoumaru and Rin's amazing dance.

At the end, the top places were announced, and Sesshoumaru and Rin inevitably won gold. The skated out and mounted the podium, receiving the medals around their necks. The crowd cheered and even more odds and ends were thrown at them, most of which they dodged or didn't pick up. They saluted the crowd and bowed before skating back out of the arena.

The mass of people in the rows of seats began to stand, if they weren't already standing, and shift towards the exit.

"You guys go out to the front and wait," Inuyasha informed Sango, Ayame, Miroku and Kouga. "Kagome and I'll go meet Sesshoumaru and Rin."

They nodded and joined the flow of people. Inuyasha and Kagome, meanwhile, headed towards the passage they'd gone through before. Upon going through the green door, they found Sesshoumaru and Rin, looking mildly flustered, and with a short, toad-like man who was babbling at them non-stop.

"That was truly wonderful, Sesshoumaru. A more excellent performance you could not have pulled off. Magnificent, and may I say that that second lift was bang on-"

"Jaken, shut up," Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice.

"Right you are, Sesshoumaru. Shutting up," the man responded quickly.

"Who's that?" Kagome whispered to Inuyasha.

"He's Jaken; their coach," he whispered back.

"Uh...isn't the coach supposed to be the one giving the orders?" Kagome asked, confused.

"Their's is a...peculiar situation," Inuyasha said. "Sesshoumaru only allows him to give his opinion when he wants it. Otherwise, Jaken pretty much just watches and does whatever Sesshoumaru wants. My brother's too conceited for his own good."

Kagome gave him a funny look.

"What?!" Inuyasha snapped under her gaze.

"Oh, nothing," Kagome said offhandedly. "I was just wondering if you took criticism very well from your own coach." She looked at him pointedly.

Inuyasha coughed and sputtered before muttering, "Keh!" and turning back to the three individuals before them, who were all looking at them curiously.

"What are you guys looking at?!" Inuyasha yelled.

"Nothing much, obviously," Sesshoumaru said with an expressionless face.

Inuyasha growled and was about to say something when Rin jumped between the two.

"Well, we won!" she said cheerfully. "And you know what that means!"

"What?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"Victory dinner!" Rin cheered. "All on Fluffy!"

"Fluffy...?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "The things I do for you, Rin..."

~*~

A/N Uhn...it's over...*collapses* That was my hardest chapter to write yet! Took me all day! But all for you guys, 'cause I love you!

Yay, Fluffy and Rin have entered the picture! Can you see Sesshy as an ice dancer, lol? It was too funny an idea to pass up! I couldn't believe you guessed it, Liza-Lizo! I couldn't confirm your guess before, though, or it would have given it away! Have a virtual donut as your prize! ^_~

And, yes, I advanced Rin's age. Hope you guys don't mind! ^_^' Otherwise she couldn't be Fluffy's ice dance partner and we can't leave Rin out of the picture! Wherever there's Sesshoumaru, there's Rin! ^_^

Thanks to those of you who went to check out my Ultimate Ending one-shot. Everyone else, I'd love it if you would! I really like the way it came out and it's the only way I can see all the problems in Inuyasha being resolved (in a really funny way). Pwwease? If you don't, that's fine 'cause, as I said before, I'm not a review Nazi; I just like to share the humour! ^________^

I think that's all I have to say today, so I hope you enjoyed my latest chapter and I'd love to hear your thoughts/comments/fav. parts! Next chapter we have the fun victory dinner. ^_^ Stay tuned!


	18. Fine Dining

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. You don't own Inuyasha. You know, I'm beginning to see a pattern here. I bet that NOBODY on this site owns Inuyasha. Crazy theory, eh?

A/N Alrighty, then; here I am with your new chapter! ^_^

I've surpassed 300 reviews!!! This is incredible! Thankies muchos to Sleep walking chicken and HAP for being my 300th reviewer! Wow...that's a big number...I love you guys!!!

Spirit Demon, I appreciate your request, but I mostly already have this fic planned out, and I can't see any place where I would be able to put it; sorry! ^_^'

Amieva, yay! A fellow Ontario dweller! ^_^ Yes, my advice for the day: don't go cross-country skiing. Uh uh. Compared to alpine skiing, cross-country is the most boring sport around! Ice-skating's fun, though. ^_^

Sleep walking chicken and HAP, and KagomeHigurashi66, um...we don't have DDR up here (not that I know of, anyway), although from reading various fics, I've figured out what it is. So I really wouldn't know if "Butterfly" is from that; I only know that it was a song used in my dance recital last year. If your DDR song is a woman singing about being a butterfly and searching for her samurai all across Japan, then I guess it's the same song. ^_^

Spacewolf? S-Spacewolf?! You've finally come and reviewed me??? What do I owe you for the honour of your presence, lol? And yes, you can have a virtual donut, too. But only if you ask REALLY nicely. ^_~

Angel Of Joy, you're gonna have to hold on a bit longer. The presents will probably be handed out either next chapter or the one after that.

And, for those of you who don't already know, I have another kind-of-one-shot, lol. It's basically what my friends and I believe to be Sesshoumaru's ultimate motive behind everything he does, and 25 reasons to back it up. I'd love it if you'd check it out; it's another humour/parody (can't get enough of those, can I?).

And I'd like once again to dish out some credit to my friend, Spacewolf, for helping me out with the evil and funny events of this chapter... 

~*~

"I hate you."

"I hate you more, brother."

"Will you guys shut up?!" Sango burst through the brothers' "dispute." "How many times do you two have to repeat those lines until you have in your heads that you hate each other?!"

"It will take several more times to get the notion through my brother's thick skull," Sesshoumaru replied in a monotone voice as his hands gripped the steering wheel of the van they were currently all riding in.

"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped. As he lunged at his brother from the back seat, he was restrained by Miroku and Kouga on either side of him and Rin, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"You really must learn to control your temper, brother," Sesshoumaru said calmly. "It will do wonders for your social skills."

"Oh, like you have a ton of them yourself," Inuyasha sneered as they pulled into the parking lot of a fancy restaurant.

"To tell the truth," Rin interrupted as they all exited the vehicle. "I think your social skills are just about equal."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning to regard his ice dance partner.

"Neither of you have any!" Kouga and Ayame snapped simultaneously.

Both the brothers' mouths snapped shut and they turned their backs to the rest of the group and walked towards the restaurant, leaving the others behind.

Rolling their eyes, the six others followed them into the building and to a larger table that could accommodate their entire group. Sitting down, they all picked up their menus and began browsing.

After a few moments, Sesshoumaru spoke up. "Oh, look, Rin. Cindy made it."

The heads of everyone at their table swivelled around to watch a middle aged, flaming orange-haired woman toddle in, give them a brief glance, and sit down at a table a fair ways away.

"Now, Cindy! Is that hundred metres?" Sesshoumaru called out through the classy restaurant. Many of the customers glared at him for interrupting their meal and the quaint atmosphere of the restaurant.

The woman almost on the other side of the building plucked out a tape measure and held onto one end as she gave the other to a nearby waiter and gave him a few instructions. Looking completely appalled, the smartly dressed man carried his end of the tape measure all the way to where Sesshoumaru was waiting. Upon having it in his possession, Sesshoumaru regarded it critically.

"Ah, one hundred and one. Very good, Cindy!" Sesshoumaru plucked a photo of himself and a pen out of an inner pocket in his jacket and hastily signed it. Handing it to the stupefied waiter, he said, "Would you mind handing this to the orange-haired lady over there? Tell her it's for being good and abiding by the law."

Trying to keep his dignity, the waiter stiffly walked back to Cindy and handed the photo to her with a few words. Cindy grasped the photo tightly and began showering it with kisses and snuggling it.

Sesshoumaru turned back to the table and took a sip of his water as the other seven shuddered collectively.

"Gah! What was that?!" Sango proclaimed.

Sesshoumaru regarded her calmly. "One of my many stalkers, Cindy. One of the better ones, actually; she's abiding by the restraining order. What ever happened to your stalker, brother? Jodi, wasn't it?"

"Jodi?" Kagome asked, surprised. "You have a stalker, too?" She looked questioningly at Inuyasha

Inuyasha growled. "She's currently in jail. Crazy girl."

Just then the waitress serving them came up and requested their orders.

"Rin will have the chicken teriyaki, a caesar salad, and a glass of white milk," Sesshoumaru said. "And I'll have-"

"The same," Rin cut in.

The others quickly ordered their meals and the waitress walked off.

"Why did you order that for me, Rin?" Sesshoumaru said calmly, but with a slight edge to his voice.

"Because you ordered for me, and I thought we could have the same thing," Rin said, cheerful as ever. She met Sesshoumaru's glare dead on and after a few moments, jutted her lower lip out in a slight pout and gave him the best puppy eyes she could muster.

"Damn you," Sesshoumaru muttered, conceding and looking away.

"Yay!" Rin chirped, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him sideways.

Sesshoumaru just continued to sip at his water, as if nothing had happened; or as if this happened often.

"It certainly is...interesting...hanging out with Sesshoumaru, isn't it?" Ayame whispered to Kouga.

He shook his head. "You have no idea. For a guy that has a very limited personality, 'interesting' just seems to follow him around."

"Hey! Fluffy has a personality!" Rin protested. "A big one, too!"

"Fluffy?" Kagome cut in. "Why do you keep calling him Fluffy?"

At this, a large smirk crossed Inuyasha's features and he hastily fished out his wallet. "Here, I'll show you," he said as he plucked out various photos. "Every skating competition, Sesshoumaru's costume contains something fluffy." He flicked through the photos, allowing Kagome to see some of Sesshoumaru's past costumes, all accompanied by fluffy vests, hats, hair accessories, and any other possible thing that could be made to be fluffy.

"Rin keeps doing that. I have no say in what my costumes are," Sesshoumaru said stiffly. Then his eyes narrowed. "Why do still keep those photos around, brother?"

"Because you won't get rid of those humiliating pictures of me!" Inuyasha snarled.

"Ah, yes," Sesshoumaru said, fishing out his own wallet. "I'd almost forgotten about those." Upon pulling out what he had been searching for, he gave it a flick and a score of photos tumbled out in plastic sheaths. Holding one up, he said, "Here we are; Inuyasha's ice cream experience when he was six." He took the picture out of its sheath and threw it down on the table so that everyone could see. A picture of an adorable Inuyasha with chocolate ice cream all over his face, including his forehead, and all in his hair. His large golden eyes looked earnestly at the camera.

"Oh, my gosh!" Kagome squealed, grabbing the picture. "So cute!"

Inuyasha, who had been glaring at Sesshoumaru, felt a blush creep along his cheeks as Kagome examined the photo and periodically squealed.

"And," Sesshoumaru continued as he plucked another picture out of its sheath and threw it on the table. "Inuyasha's similar ice cream experience from last year."

They all scuttled forward to get a better look at the picture. It didn't take long for the majority of the table to burst out laughing. The photo was practically a duplicate of the previous one, although Inuyasha was, of course, older and was glaring at the camera.

"How exactly did you manage to do that, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked curiously.

"Shut up, Miroku," Inuyasha growled.

Kagome giggled and held up the more recent photo so she could hold it and compare it to the younger one next to it. "You're hilarious, Inuyasha!"

"Yes, he is rather amusing, isn't he?" Sesshoumaru said blandly.

"You want to see something funny?" Inuyasha threatened. "How about this?"

He delved into his wallet and produced a photo of a decidedly unhappy Sesshoumaru, who had his long silver hair wrapped up in an elegant french braid behind his head.

Sesshoumaru glared daggers at his younger brother across from him as the others cracked up.

"What a nice look!" Ayame said, laughing so hard, tears came to her eyes. "Did you just come from the salon?"

Rin was laughing as well. "That was when Sesshoumaru and I made a bet on to what extent Jaken would go to make Fluffy happy. I won and got to french braid his hair! It was so great!"

"At least one of us thinks so," Sesshoumaru muttered darkly.

Inuyasha noticed Kagome eyeing his hair out of the corner of his eye. "Don't even think about it!" he said as he turned to her. 

"Oh, fine. But you're no fun," she pouted.

"What would it take for you to return that photo to me, brother?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Inuyasha said offhandedly. "Whatcha got?"

"As much as it pains me, what about this one?" Sesshoumaru said, throwing a new picture down on the table.

Everyone peered at a picture of the top half of Inuyasha, nude and in the shower as he sung into a bottle of Herbal Essences. Inuyasha sputtered and grabbed the photo off of the table as he chucked the picture of Sesshoumaru with his hair french braided at his older brother.

"I can't believe you just showed that to everyone!" Inuyasha proclaimed disbelievingly.

"Ah, well; you'll get over it," Sesshoumaru stated calmly as he ripped up the photo Inuyasha had thrown at him.

"Yeah, well, maybe you won't be so calm when I show them a picture of your first kiss!" Inuyasha snarled.

A twitch of Sesshoumaru's left eye was the only indication that he'd heard him. "What do you want, brother? The pony picture or the hamster one?"

A smug look spread over Inuyasha's face. "Neither. They're not nearly good enough. Something better; this is a pretty valuable picture. I could let it get out to the media and then, oh! what a field day they'd have!"

"Don't you DARE," Sesshoumaru said threateningly.

"Give me something good, then," Inuyasha said leaning forward.

Sesshoumaru stared at him for a moment before making a decision. "Fine. I'll trade you your first driver's licence photo for it. You know, the one that was so bad, you went and PAID to get a retake?"

Inuyasha blanched and looked frantically at his brother. "I thought that was burned!"

"Well, you thought wrong, brother," Sesshoumaru said. "Now do we have a deal?"

"Fine!" Inuyasha snapped. "On the count of three; one...two...three!"

The two brothers hastily exchanged photos without letting the others see. Then they each popped them into their mouths and began chewing. After a few bites, they washed down the horrible pictures with their glasses of water.

"Ummm..." Ayame said. "Were they really that bad?"

Rin laughed. "You have no idea."

Just then, their food arrived and their conversation was interrupted as their waitress placed their orders before them.

"I have a proposition for you, brother," Sesshoumaru said as the others dug into their food around him. "How about I give you back the spandex speed suit pictures for the babysitting ones?"

Inuyasha coughed out the spaghetti noodles he currently had stuffed in his mouth. "What?! Give up the babysitter series!? Not on your life! Even if it would be for the pictures of me in all my past speed suits. Those aren't all that embarrassing anyway. You're trying to swindle me!"

"Would I do that, little brother?" Sesshoumaru said, his tone not betraying whether or not he was sarcastic.

"Gee, lemme think...Uh, yes," Inuyasha spat without a moment's hesitation. "Because you're a jerk."

"Must be a family trait," Kagome muttered next to him.

Inuyasha spun on her. "What's that supposed to mean?!" he asked in a strangled voice.

"You're moderately smart," Kouga cut in. "You figure it out."

Inuyasha glared at him and stuffed a large amount of spaghetti in his mouth.

Halfway through their meal, Rin suddenly nudged Sesshoumaru. "Fluffy...John's here," she said in a nervously, almost scared tone.

Everyone looked up to see a man, most likely in his twenties or thirties come into the restaurant and gaze greedily at Rin before waiting for someone to come and seat him at a table.

Sesshoumaru stood briskly. "Excuse me a moment, would you? I must have a word with Rin's stalker."

The group left at the table watched as Sesshoumaru went over to "John" and guided him forcefully out of the restaurant. After five minutes, he returned, looking extremely satisfied with himself.

"What did you do to him?" Sango asked.

Sesshoumaru glanced at her. "That's for me to know and you not to...ever."

Rin sighed in relief as Sesshoumaru sat elegantly back down beside her. "That guy creeps me out!" she declared. "I mean, not even the restraining order daunts him!" Everyone shuddered. Rin smiled at Sesshoumaru. "Luckily Sesshy's nice enough to get rid of him every time he shows up." 

"It would be terribly inconvenient if I were to lose my ice dancing partner," Sesshoumaru said as way of explanation.

"Ahhh," Inuyasha sighed as he finished his spaghetti and leaned back in his chair. "That was delicious!"

"You think that any form of pasta's delicious, dog-turd," Kouga said as he finished his steak.

Inuyasha yawned as a response. "What's for dessert?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Children. I can't believe I'm stuck with such an immature child."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes in imitation of his older brother. "She-male. I can't believe I'm trapped in a room with a she-male."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed slightly, but all he did was take another delicate bite of his chicken teriyaki.

Bored while waiting for everyone else to finish their meals, Inuyasha leaned forward and propped his elbow on the table, chin in hand. Then, with his other hand, he dipped his finger in his still fairly full water glass. Bringing it out, he began gliding it around the rim of the glass, producing a ringing, musical sound.

Equally bored, Kouga joined in with his water glass.

"Hey!" Ayame exclaimed watching them. "How do you do that? I've never been able to!"

"It's simple," Kouga said. "Here, dip your finger into the water and then just glide it around the rim of your glass until the sound's produced. You've got to do it just the right way, though, or else nothing will happen."

"'Kay," Ayame said, turning all her attention to the glass in front of her. "Here goes." She dipped her finger in and slid it around the rim, producing slight squeaking sounds here and there.

"You've kind of got it," Miroku cut in. "Here; allow me." He produced a beautiful, melodic sound when he did it.

"Ha! I can do better than that!" Sango proclaimed. She took her own water glass and stole Ayame's, who was still struggling with it. Then, drinking a bit out of both, she dipped both her fingers and slid them around the rims. "There; a chord," she said proudly.

"Come on, Fluffy!" Rin said gleefully as she and Kagome joined in. "Try it!"

"I refuse to lower myself to that level," Sesshoumaru said unemotionally. "Besides; I just drank the last of my water."

Just then, a waiter rushed by them and to the back of the restaurant.

"What's his hurry?" Sango asked curiously.

Miroku shrugged. "Got someone the wrong order?" He continued playing with his water glass.

After a few moments the same waiter met with another close to their table.

"Did you check the cables?" one asked the other.

"Yeah, they're fine," the other responded frantically.

"The customers are growing disgruntled. Find the problem and fix it," the first waiter hissed.

The eight seated at the table nearby continued playing their water glasses, excluding Sesshoumaru, and looked on curiously.

The two waiters separated, the first to calm the dissatisfied customers and the other to find out whatever the problem was.

Kouga shrugged and turned back to Ayame. "No, no," he said as she attempted to play the water glass she had reclaimed from Sango. "You're pressing too hard. Feel it out."

Ayame stuck her tongue between her teeth in concentration and tried again. This time, she managed to produce a lovely, pleasing tone.

"Oooh! Look, Kouga! I did it! I did it!" she said excitedly as the sound carried out throughout the restaurant.

The two waiters suddenly ran back and met by their table again.

"I just checked everything!" the one waiter declared. "There's nothing wrong with the sound system!"

"You checked the amplitude and everything?" the second waiter asked impatiently. "Then where in god's name is that sound coming from?!"

The eight at the table looked at each other in shock and then down at their water glasses they were still playing. They giggled nervously as the waiters slowly turned to them and glared in realization. All hands flew off of the glasses as the guilty party looked around at all the other diners glaring at them.

"Uh...oops?" Ayame laughed, strained.

~*~

"I can't believe they kicked us out!" Inuyasha said, outraged. "And without dessert!"

"Is that all you ever think about, brother?" Sesshoumaru asked, slightly annoyed. "I just can't believe they kicked me out as well! I wasn't doing anything so immature!"

"You were supposed to be 'keeping us in line'," Rin reminded him.

"I'm amazing and incredible, Rin," Sesshoumaru said. "But not even I can do the impossible."

Inuyasha let out a shocked gasp. "The annoying ass admits he's not perfect?!" he shouted sarcastically. "I'll have to ask Satan how his ice rink's holding up."

"Which reminds me, dog-turd," Kouga said. "I'm going to win the ski race competition next week."

"What makes you think so?" Inuyasha growled.

"As you said yourself, I would win when the devil straps on skates. Obviously," he said, indicating Sesshoumaru, "it's already happened."

Inuyasha snorted as Sesshoumaru remained poker faced. "I'll let you get second, Kouga," Inuyasha said between laughs. "'Cause I think Sesshoumaru's only the spawn of Satan."

"How kind of you, dear half-brother," Sesshoumaru said as he climbed in the driver's seat of the van. "Remind me to thank you later at your spandex contest."

Inuyasha's joyful expression slid off his face as he interpreted this comment. "What?! You're coming to the competition again?! Why won't you leave me alone?!"

"I always come to 'cheer you on,' little brother," Sesshoumaru said calmly as they began driving back towards the ski resort. "What makes this competition any different?"

"'Cause it's really important to me and I don't need your 'support'," Inuyasha sneered.

"Pity," Sesshoumaru said nonchalantly.

After fifteen more minutes of tense silence, Sesshoumaru pulled the van up beside the girls' condo and his car which he had left there previously.

As they all disembarked, Sesshoumaru handed the keys to Kagome and he and Rin headed towards his car. "See you next week, brother! Don't have too much fun without me!"

"Oh, we could never have any 'fun' without you, brother," Inuyasha snarled as he and Miroku and Kouga started off for their condo and the girls for theirs.

"Well, that was a perfectly detestable evening, wasn't it, Rin? Let's go back now so we can tell Jaken it's alright for him to stop standing on one leg," Sesshoumaru said blandly as he slid into the driver's seat of his own car.

Rin's giggle was his answer as they drove off into the night.

~*~

A/N And that's a wrap!

Is this the end of Sesshoumaru and Rin? Of course not! But you'll have to stay tuned to read about them later on. ^_____^

And that water glass incident was based off of a personal experience of mine, lol. I was at a banquet with a group of people and we got really bored waiting for our food to arrive. We all started to play with our water glasses and then a bunch of people started running around, checking the sound system, lol. We stopped when we realized that it was because of us and our musical glasses, and they didn't catch us like they did the Inu gang in this chapter. ^_^

And I'm sorry there wasn't a ton of fluff between any of the couples, but it just wasn't the right setting. It was Fluffy's time to shine, lol! But don't worry, Kagome's birthday's coming up the next day (Saturday), which IS the perfect setting (wink, wink).

Alright, not much more to say, but please check out my The Truth About Fluffy and The Ultimate Ending one-shots if you haven't already, 'cause I wuv 'em verra, verra much! ^_^ And, of course, I'd love to hear your comments/fav. parts of this chapter! Ah, Sesshoumaru, how cruel art I to thou...^_~


	19. Surprise!

Disclaimer: 

A/N Alrighty folks, here I am again! Can't get enough of me, can you? Sorry about the slight delay, but it was Easter weekend and a bunch of my family members came to visit and so yeah...

Okay, for all of you eager to try the water glass trick, just a heads up that it must be a wine glass you try it in. And yes, Fiery Love, the sound really does carry that far.

And Miranda, thanks for the compliments (^______^), but you're going to have to wait for awhile until Inuyasha and Kagome kiss. After all, we've only just started to get into the romantic relationships. ^_~ But don't worry, we'll get there.

Oh, and lady lilacks, in regards to The Truth About Fluffy, I didn't make a spelling error with Sesshoumaru's sword. His father left him the Tensaiga and he left Inuyasha the Tetsusaiga. Sorry about the confusion! And I'm not sure if my friends and I will something like that for the other characters, but you never know; we might be struck with brilliance like we were with Fluffy. Although, I was considering turning The Truth About Fluffy into a documentary on our good ol' pal, Sesshoumaru...Could be interesting, eh?

Okey dokey, that's all I have to say...on with the much awaited chapter!

~*~

"Come on, Ayame!" Sango whispered urgently. "We have to go before she wakes up! What are you doing in there that's taking so long?!"

"I doing my hair!" Ayame's muffled whisper came to her through her bedroom door.

"What for?" Sango asked smugly. "To impress Kouga?"

"Of course not!" Ayame said, a little too quickly. A few moments later, she came out of her room, her hair in an elegant french braid.

"Suuuure you're not," Sango muttered as they descend the stairs and grabbed their jackets.

"I'm not!" Ayame sniffed indignantly. "I did my hair this nice because...well, because...because it's Kagome's birthday, that's why!" She nodded her head as she found a suitable excuse.

"Uh huh," Sango continued, disbelievingly, as they exited the condo as quietly as possible to walk over to the boys' condo.

"It's true!" Ayame insisted. "It's a special occasion and I want to look nice!"

"Oh, I believe you," Sango said in a tone that clearly said she didn't.

"You better!" Ayame said. "Because it'd be really bad if you believed that I was using the excuse of a special occasion to dress up in hopes of impressing a totally hot hunk such as Kouga, who makes my stomach flutter whenever he's near!" she sputtered out in one breath. After a moment of breathing hard and contemplating what she'd just said while Sango regarded her with a smug expression, she blushed like mad and redirected her attention to the direction in which they were headed.

"I thought so..." Sango said smugly as they reached the condo.

Ayame turned to her and pointed a finger in her face. "Not. A. Word."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Sango replied, grinning, as they walked up the inside stairs to the boys' condo. They knocked on the door and waited.

After a minute or two, Kouga opened the door, bleary-eyed and still in his pajamas. He looked at them for a moment before it clicked as to what he was seeing, and then his face registered shock.

Embarrassed that they had caught him in such a state, he hastily tried to fix his tousled hair and gave them a lopsided grin. "What're you guys doing here so early?"

Ayame giggled at his bedraggled appearance. "We're here to set up a semi-surprise party for Kagome," she explained.

"But why'd ya come so early?" Kouga yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"To prepare it, silly," Sango said, holding up a large bag. "We have to decorate, you know."

"Well, you decorate and I'll sleep," Kouga mumbled, walking back into the condo and leaving the door open for them.

"Oh, no you don't, pal," Ayame said as she and Sango entered. "You're helping; so is Miroku."

"Why not Inuyasha?!" Kouga asked indignantly as he shuffled towards Miroku's room and knocked on the door.

Sango rolled her eyes. "Well SOMEONE's got to keep Kagome occupied when she wakes up and wonders where we all are. Since the job of decorating definitely requires a woman's touch, and Inuyasha has no present to prepare, we decided to nominate him."

Kouga shrugged. Just then, Miroku opened his door and shuffled out to find out what the knock on the door was for. He stopped dead, however, when he saw Sango and Ayame staring at him. With a grimace, he looked down at what he knew would be his violet nightgown and at Scruffles, his stuffed bunny who was loosely clutched in his right hand.

"Uh...I can explain!" Miroku blurted out in near panic.

"This should be interesting," Ayame said between giggles as Sango just stared in complete shock.

"Um...well...I-I've always worn a nightgown...uh...I think they're warmer and, uh...lots of guys wear them! It's not unnatural and it's a perfectly manly thing to wear!" Miroku finished defiantly.

"You just go on thinkin' that, bud," Kouga said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Meanwhile, I don't think you can even PRETEND that that's true about Scruffles." He indicated the stuffed bunny in Miroku's hand.

"Well...I've had him since I was a kid..." Miroku muttered pitifully.

"That's so cute!" Sango proclaimed suddenly. "I can just see a mini-Miroku holding Scruffles!"

Miroku looked at her blankly. "You don't think...? And the night gown...?"

Sango brushed him off with a wave of her hand. "My dad wears one too. He also claims it's warmer. I just never thought I'd find someone else who wore one. Kinda surprised me for a minute there, but it's all good now."

Kouga coughed uncomfortably. "Well, then...um, I'll get Inuyasha up so we can force-I mean, convince-him to go over to your condo at this ungodly hour and then Miroku and I shall get dressed in order to help you guys, er...'decorate'."

"Decorate for what?" Miroku asked, confused.

"For Kagome's birthday," Ayame hissed. "We obviously need to have a party."

"Oh, clearly," Miroku said sarcastically. "Alright, Kouga; let's go get Inuyasha up." He began to roll up his sleeves and head towards Inuyasha's room, Kouga in tow.

"Is it a two man operation or something?" Ayame asked jokingly as she noticed where both of them were headed.

"You have no idea," Kouga called back as they opened the bedroom door and went inside.

After about ten minutes of scuffling, yelling, pounding, thudding, shouting, cursing, yanking, smacking and begging, the two boys were successful in getting Inuyasha out of bed...only to begin the process again to get him up off of the floor. Then they shoved him into the bathroom with a clean set of clothes where he took a shower half asleep. He stumbled out, fully clothed and then clumsily put on his skiing gear with a bit of help from Miroku and Kouga, before being shoved out the door with the girls' condo's key card in his pocket.

He stumbled down the stairs and out the door, taking a few tries before he was able to successfully step into his skis. Then he proceeded to slowly ski over to the other condo, eyes half closed and oblivious to the cold air on his face. Once at his destination, he eventually popped himself out of his skis and headed up the inside stairs to the girls' condo. Slipping the key card in and out of the lock, he opened the door and deposited his skis against the wall before removing his ski boots and jacket. Then he sleepily made his way out to the TV room and noticed Kagome wasn't to be seen; most likely due to the fact that she probably hadn't woken up yet. He gratefully collapsed on the couch and promptly fell asleep once again.

~*~

Kagome yawned and sat up in her bed. "Another awesome day of this awesome trip," she sighed blissfully. "And it's my birthday! Yipee! I'm seventeen! I've got to go annoy Sango and Ayame about it!"

She scrambled out of bed and to her two friends' rooms, puzzled to find neither of them there and not hearing any noise from downstairs. She shrugged and went back to her room to prepare to take her shower. Once she was done and dressed, she scampered happily down the stairs to the main room. She stopped dead in her tracks however when she thought she saw something truly shocking on the couch.

Just to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, she reversed her steps and came down the stairs a second time. Sure enough, Inuyasha was fast asleep on her couch.

Blinking in confusion, Kagome advanced towards him to get a closer look at the hot boy before her. He looked so relaxed and peaceful in his sleep and she had to giggle at the contrast from when he was awake. She noticed a lock of silver hair had fallen in his face and, without thinking, she reached out and brushed it away. Her hand stayed where it was even after she'd completed the action, though, and Inuyasha, still asleep, leaned towards it so that his cheek was cupped in her palm.

By this time, Kagome was blushing furiously, but wanted to do anything but pull back her hand. His skin felt smooth under her touch, and a few silky hairs from his gorgeous mane grazed the back of her hand.

As he stirred slightly, Kagome yanked her hand away as if it had burned. Inuyasha groggily rose to a sitting position, his hand going automatically to his cheek where the source of warmth had disappeared.

"Kagome...?" he asked uncertainly as his eyes focused on the red-faced girl in front of him. "What're you doin' here...?"

At the odd question, Kagome forgot about her earlier embarrassment. "What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?' What are YOU doing here? This is MY condo."

Inuyasha looked around, confused for a moment, before realization lit up his eyes. "Oh, right! Something about...Miroku...and Ayame...and Kouga...and Sango...um...oh, yeah! They were gonna dec-uh...go skiing...early...um..."

"Without me?!" Kagome asked in a pitifully depressed voice.

"Uh..." Inuyasha said, trying to think fast in his sleepy mind. "They sent me to, um, get you and take you skiing...I'm sure we'll find them out there," Inuyasha finished hurriedly, hoping she wouldn't take her friends' abandonment of her too seriously. He quickly added, "Oh, and did I mention happy birthday?"

Kagome's disappointed look rapidly changed to one of sheer happiness and she launched herself at Inuyasha. "Thanks, Inuyasha! You know what? You're the first person to see me as a seventeen year old!"

"Um...that's great...I guess...will you honour me with the gift of oxygen now...?" Inuyasha's muffled voice asked as she practically smothered him in her hug.

"Oh, sorry!" she apologized as she scrambled off of him. After staring at each other uncomfortably for a few minutes, she tentatively offered, "Hey...? Do you want some breakfast?"

Inuyasha bolted up from the couch. "Yes! But I'll cook!"

Kagome's eyes softened. "Aw, that's so sweet! You'd do that for me on my birthday?"

"Uh..." Inuyasha's eyes darted back and forth frantically. 'Maybe I shouldn't mention to her that I don't trust her to cook any more breakfasts...' he thought. Out loud, he said a bit forcefully, "Who wouldn't?"

Kagome gave him her brightest smile and Inuyasha noticed his knees weren't as strong as they were a few moments ago. He gave her a small grin before turning and walking stiffly to the kitchen before she sprung any more surprise emotional attacks on him.

He ended up cooking some delicious french toast with some bacon on the side. Kagome was practically drooling from the smell by the time he was done and she eyed the food hungrily as he placed it before her. They both dug into it with ferocity and everything he'd cooked was gone in a matter of minutes.

"That was good."

"Yup..."

"So..."

"So..."

"Dishes?"

"I guess so..."

"Don't get up too quickly or anything."

"You either."

Grumbling and groaning, the two teenagers rose and reluctantly shuffled over to the sink where the dishes used for cooking needed to be washed. They got out some soap and started pouring water into the sink. They began calmly washing and drying the dirty dishes which, inevitably, quickly turned into all-out bubble warfare.

~*~

"Just put the party favour down, Kouga," Ayame pleaded.

Kouga looked at her blankly for a moment before blowing the annoying noisemaker in her face.

Ayame watched with crossed eyes as the party favour unfurled and lightly touched her nose before she exploded. "Urgh! I'm so going to get you, Kouga!" Ayame yelled, lunging for the source of her frustration. He lead her in a chase around the room, periodically blowing into the party favour as he ran.

Meanwhile, Sango was attempting to pin a large, decorative star high up on one of the walls. Miroku watched her unsuccessful attempts for a moment before going up to her. "Need some help, my dear lady?" he asked gallantly.

Sango gave him a brief suspicious glance before conceding. Miroku knelt down on the ground and Sango climbed atop his shoulders. Miroku rose slowly and walked unsteadily towards the wall.

"Don't you dare drop me," Sango warned.

"I wouldn't dream of dropping you, Sango," Miroku said.

Sango could detect such an intense sincerity in his words that it shocked her enough to drop the star she was holding. It fell to the ground with a thud.

Miroku looked down at it with a raised eyebrow. "Though you obviously don't feel the same way about that star," he commented dryly.

"My hand slipped," Sango muttered, very grateful Miroku couldn't see her red face.

At that moment, the phone rang.

Kouga changed direction and headed toward the ringing contraption, Ayame still hot on his heels. He grabbed the phone, stopping suddenly, causing Ayame to collide with his back. "Hello?"

After a few brief moments, Kouga went pale and responded shakily, "M-mother?"

He winced noticeably when a woman's voice rose in pitch through the phone and into his poor ear. "It's not what you think!" Kouga protested to the screeching. "Ayame and I are just friends...well, of course I'm on first name basis with her! ...Because she thought it might help me get over my reporter phobia! We're only pretending...! ...No? I'm not allowed!? What do you mean?! Are you trying to tell me I can't even have a friend that's a girl? But, mom," Kouga said in a very whiny voice. "That's not fair! I'm almost eighteen; a legal adult!"

A snicker was heard behind him.

"Ayame! You're not helping!" Kouga hissed, turning around to face her. In response to the woman's raised voice on the other end of the line, he said into the phone, "Uh...eh, heh...yeah, she's here...right now...But Miroku and Sango are here too! ...Who's Sango? Uh...another female friend...? No...? Bad? Wrong? Not allowed? Mother...!"

By this time, Sango was laughing so hard, she was having a hard time balancing on Miroku's shoulders.

"But...but...but...mom...! Why not...?" Kouga's voice was very whiny by this time and everyone else in the room was practically in tears.

After a few moments, Kouga turned sullenly to Ayame. "She wants to talk to you," he said, holding out the phone.

Ayame straightened and shakily held out her hand to receive the phone. Suppressing her giggles, she said hesitantly, "Um...hello? ...This is Ayame...I'm, uh...half-dating Kouga...it's what the public believes, but we're really just pretending...he's not allowed to socialise with females until he's twenty-five?! What kind of rule is that?! I mean! Uh...no offense or anything, but that doesn't seem very fair...please, Mrs...uh, Kouga's Mom? He's a really great guy; I mean, you raised him incredibly well...did I mention he has great manners? And amazing fashion sense?"

By this time, Miroku and Sango were rocking unsteadily with laughter at the completely false statements while Kouga and Ayame were trying to motion to them to be quiet.

"Uh...yes! He's a very nice boy...yes, very innocent...I wouldn't dream of manipulating him...yes, very naive...I completely agree with you, but I assure you, I would never even consider doing something so cruel and inhumane to your poor, sweet boy...he's in very good hands...yes...yes...alright! It's been lovely talking to you, Atrina...yes, I hope to talk to you again soon too...Bye!" With a smile, Ayame replaced the phone on the receiver and turned back to Kouga who was looking at her with a completely dumbfounded expression.

"D-did you j-just...?"

"Yup!" Ayame said brightly. "You can now keep us girls within your presence. Isn't that great? Flattery can really get you places!"

"B-but how...?"

"Don't worry yourself about it, Kouga. It's all been taken care of," Ayame said, putting an arm awkwardly around his shoulders and guiding him away from the phone. "Isn't it awesome, though? You are semi-free from your mother's control and now you can-"

She was abruptly cut off as Kouga blew on the party favour he had replaced in his mouth.

"Kouga...!!! I'm gonna kill you!" Ayame shouted as she pounced at him.

~*~

"You're really starting to get the hang of this!" Inuyasha praised Kagome as she skidded to a halt beside him at the bottom of the hill.

"Man, it's so much more fun this way than the way I was doing it before!" Kagome exclaimed. "I feel so in control and free and so much better than before!"

Inuyasha chuckled. "Yup, but let's go back to the top. Do you mind if we practice wide sweeping turns down the hill. That's what the first race of the competition is like and I need to be prepared."

As they boarded the chairlift, Kagome turned to him. "Do you mind explaining a bit about this competition to me, though? I don't really know how it's set up or anything."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Well, first you have to know how ski racing's like and what the two kinds of ski racing are. Basically, in a ski race, each racer goes down one at a time and they must ski through a bunch of gates, which are really just poles stuck into the snow, until they cross the finish line at the bottom. The gates are staggered back and forth across the hill and you must ski through each and every one of them to qualify. You're timed for how long it takes you to go through them all and reach the bottom. You get two runs through the course and the skier with the best combined time wins. With me so far?"

Kagome nodded and he continued. "Now, as for the two types of courses, there's slalom and GS. GS stands for giant slalom. In a slalom course, the gates are closer together and it requires a lot of skill to be able to manoeuver through them and keep up your speed. In a GS course, the gates are spread widely across the hill and the winner is mostly determined by the racer who can pick up the most speed. More racers usually do well in the GS since it requires a little less skill. I prefer the slalom because you get so close to the gates, you get to hit them with the base of the handle on your poles. It's called bashing the gates and it's really great for taking out your frustration," Inuyasha said with a smirk. "But I also really like the slalom because it challenges me more than the GS. It's where the less skilled get weeded out usually..."

"That sounds really neat. I had no idea what ski racing was really like," Kagome said.

"Yeah," Inuyasha snorted. "One person once asked me if all the racers just kinda skied down the hill at the same time and tried to push each other out of the way to reach the bottom first. What a way to determine a person's ski racing ability that would be!"

Kagome giggled. "That would be pretty funny to watch, though..."

"Yeah, hilarious. But anyway, the competition this week will have both types of courses in it; the GS on Wednesday and the slalom on Thursday. Since the GS is first, I want to practice my wide, sweeping turns across the hill; the ones I'll need for that race," Inuyasha continued.

"Makes sense," Kagome nodded. "Oh, here's our stop! Let's go!"

The two hopped off the chairlift and headed for a nearby blue square hill. Inuyasha went down first, taking his wide turns, and Kagome did her best to follow in his wake. When they finished that run, they went back up to the top and took a few more similar runs before Inuyasha pulled off his glove and looked at his watch speculatively.

"That should just about do it..." he muttered.

"What are you talking about?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Inuyasha said quickly. "But I'm kinda hungry; how 'bout you?" Before Kagome had a chance to reply, he continued, "I agree. Let's go to my condo and I'll make you some birthday lunch. Maybe we'll find our other four elusive friends while we're at it..."

Kagome's eyes darkened. "Yeah! Where are they, anyway?! It's my birthday..."

"No time to brood; must eat!" Inuyasha said, pushing Kagome down the hill and following after.

"Ahhh! Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled as she flew down the hill.

Kagome didn't get a chance to chew Inuyasha out as he shot past her, heading for the boys' condo. She hurriedly followed suit and practically had to run to keep up with him and he popped out of his skis and dashed up the inside stairs of the building. Slipping his key card in and out of the lock, he opened the door to the dark condo.

"Wonder why the drapes are drawn?" Kagome said out loud as she walked in behind Inuyasha.

Suddenly, Inuyasha flicked the light switch on and the loud blaring of a party favour blew directly in Kagome's ear.

"Surprise!" the voices of her four missing friends shouted.

~*~

A/N Okay, finishing it there! More birthday fun next chapter! And I mean A LOT more birthday fun...you all have no idea...

And if anyone wants me to explain the ski racing thing more thoroughly, just tell me in your review or email me and I'll put another explanation in my next chapter's A/N. Okay? Okay!

Alright, must get this posted now, and again, sorry about the three day delay, but I'd still love to hear from you about this chapter! ^_^ Talk to ya later! 


	20. Happy Birthday, Kagome!

Disclaimer: I hate to break it to you all, but I don't actually own Inuyasha. Bet that was the shock of your life, huh?

A/N I am back again! With a special treat! An insanely long chapter! I hope you enjoy, but before we begin, I, like always, have a few things to say...

Geofount, about whether Sesshoumaru and Rin are actually a couple...ummm...I think right now, they're not...quite...they're just really close ice dance partners and basically each other's bestest, bestest friend; they've shared a lot of adventures together and the potential is there for a hook up, but I think I'll leave it up to the reader's imagination whether or not they get together...I was actually hoping to avoid this question, lol.

Angel of Joy and anyone else wanting another explanation of ski racing, I have for you a proposition. I shall write an extended and more detailed explanation, and if you want to read it, send me your email address in your review and I'll email it to you. If I write it now, it shall delay my update and it would also take up a large chunk of this chapter. Therefore, ANYBODY WHO WANTS IT, tell me your email address and you shall receive your very own ski tutorial courtesy of moi.

D-E-V-L-41, did you read my mind? Although I guess "birthday fun" kinda gives it away, doesn't it?

Nereocystis, that wasn't too long of a wait, was it? I hope not...and let's just say Miroku and Sango somehow managed to get down without anything too perverted going on...

I'd just like to say once again, that I love all of your comments, everybody! They brighten my days and make go up on a little happy high. ^_______^ So here's a new chapter for you all!

~*~

Kagome turned slowly to her right and glared daggers at Kouga who had just blown the loud party favour directly in her ear. He noticed the look and backed away slowly. Once she was satisfied that he had taken the offending apparatus far enough away from her ear, she turned back to the sight she had seen as soon as the lights had been flicked on.

There was a large banner across the entrance reading, "Happy Birthday, Kagome!" with many streamers, ribbons and balloons hanging down from it.

"Wow..." Kagome breathed. She suddenly noticed a stack of presents by the couch in the main area. "Presents!" she squealed and ran towards them.

"I guess that's what we're doing first..." Sango said dryly. The others went and joined Kagome where she was busy fawning over her discovery.

"Can I open them now, huh? Can I? Can I?" Kagome asked eagerly, sitting down with her back up against the back of the couch.

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Yes, Kagome. You can open them now."

"Oh, goody!" she said excitedly and picked up the closest one to her.

"That one's from me," Sango spoke up.

Kagome ripped off the wrapping paper to reveal a charm bracelet. There were miniature figurines dangling all around it; one of a dog, a cat, a wolf, and a toad.

"Aw, how cute!" Kagome proclaimed, giving her friend a hug. She quickly clasped it around her wrist and reached for the next present.

"That's mine," Kouga said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck.

Kagome's eyes glittered as she pulled out a beautifully woven headband with wolves loping across its length.

"Now you can have one that matches all of mine," Kouga said proudly.

Kagome giggled and gave him a hug as well. "Thanks, Kouga. I'll be sure to wear it. It feels so soft and warm," she said, snuggling it to her cheek.

"I get them custom made," Kouga said. "Only from the best!"

Inuyasha snorted from where he was on the couch behind Kagome. "Obviously not FOR the best, though."

Kouga smacked him on the arm as Kagome reached for her third present. "Whose is this one?" she asked.

"That would be mine," Ayame said. "Hope you like it!"

"Oh, I'm sure I will...Aqua!" Kagome squealed, pulling out their CD. "I've wanted this for SO long and you finally got it for me! Yay!" she jumped up and caught Ayame in a huge hug.

"You're welcome," Ayame said with a smile. "It might be a bit of an older CD, but it's still good, right?"

"Sure is!" Kagome agreed, scampering happily back to her previous position and grabbing the last present. "So this one can only be Miroku's..." She ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the box underneath to reveal a thin, scarlet red, lacy pair of undergarments.

She stared, transfixed in horror at the contents of the box she was holding, and was unable to move.

"You dolt!" Sango said, smacking Miroku upside the head. "That's not what you got her!"

"I know, I know!" Miroku protested. "It was only a joke! Here, Kagome; this is your real present...Kagome...?"

Kagome didn't give off any indication that she had heard a word that had been said as she continued to stare at the false present before her.

"Um...guys?" Ayame said frantically. "She's not blinking!"

Inuyasha quickly covered her eyes from the sight with his hands from behind her, but Kagome still made no move.

Kouga quickly removed the offending box and its contents from her limp grasp and Inuyasha removed his hands. Kagome, however, continued to stare at the place where the underwear had been, not registering that it was gone.

"Kagome...!" Inuyasha said. "Snap out of it!"

"Hmmm..." Miroku said thoughtfully. "Maybe if you gave her a kiss..." he left it hanging.

"You pervert," Sango said. "Haven't you already done enough?"

"I can't help it, my dear Sango!" Miroku exclaimed loudly. "I haven't been overly perverted for close to a day and a half now! I'm going into withdrawal!"

Sango rolled her eyes and Kouga stroked his chin thoughtfully after having returned from dumping the frilly underwear elsewhere. "Wonder what could have brought on this change?" he said slyly while regarding Sango and Miroku.

"Don't you turn into Miroku!" Ayame warned him, poking his side.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was leaning over Kagome slightly and trying to get her to return to her normal self. "Kagome...? Kagome...?" he shook her shoulders slightly and some of his hair fell forward and brushed her cheek.

Kagome seemed to immediately snap out of her daze as the silvery hair grazed her cheek. She shot out a hand and grasped the strands, snuggling them more thoroughly with her cheek. "So soft...so silky...mmm..."

"Uh...Kagome...?" Inuyasha spoke up, somewhat embarrassed. "That's, um...my...hair...?

"It is?" Kagome asked, bewildered. "Can I have it?"

"Uh...I don't think so..." Inuyasha said, trying to pry his precious hair from her grip.

"Mine!" Kagome said possessively.

"Must be the aftereffects of that traumatizing experience," Sango said, glaring at Miroku.

Miroku gave her a helpless expression. "I couldn't resist."

Sango rolled her eyes and snatched the real present from his grip. "Uh, here, Kagome. Another present for you!"

"Really?" Kagome asked, astonished. She immediately let go of Inuyasha's hair in her eagerness to get her present. "Is it a good one?"

"Of course!" Sango said in a patronizing way. "Why don't you go ahead and open it?"

"Okay!" Kagome agreed readily and ripped off the wrapping paper. A beautiful green silky scarf tumbled out into her lap and she squealed in delight. "Oooooh, pretty!"

"Glad you like it," Miroku said proudly.

"Yup, yup, I do, I do!" Kagome babbled.

Ayame rubbed her temples. "I almost think her traumatized state was better than her now child-like behavior."

"How do you think we could snap her out of it this time?" Kouga asked thoughtfully.

"Um..." Sango snapped her fingers. "Kagome! Naraku in a speedo!"

Kagome's head snapped around to stare with wide eyes at Sango. Then she let out a moan and curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth while crying pitifully.

"Way to make it worse!" Inuyasha snapped, trying himself not to think about the image Sango had conjured.

"That'll be hard to explain in therapy," Miroku muttered.

"Kagome!" Ayame snapped. "We're going to play party games now. WITHOUT you if you don't snap out of it!"

Kagome's head shot up. "No! You can't play party games without me, Ayame! It's my party!" she cried out.

"She seems normal enough now," Kouga said, stroking his chin. "Good work, Ayame."

"Why, thank you, Kouga. But I AM a professional after all," Ayame responded, blowing on her nails and buffing them on her shirt.

"What game are we playing?" Kagome cut in impatiently.

"Why, I'm so glad you asked," Miroku said in a truly delighted voice. "Because I just so happen to have here..." he bent down and recovered an empty wine bottle from behind the couch. "...a bottle!"

"And just what exactly were you planning on doing with that bottle, may I ask?" Sango asked in a very threatening way.

"Well, now, there just so happens to be a game I know involving a bottle such as this...I think you guys will really like it," Miroku said earnestly.

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Miroku, we're not that naive. And before you continue, I will say right here and now that I will never be participating in such a game."

"Me neither," the other four friends responded automatically.

Miroku sighed and his hopeful expression turned to a depressed one.

"Where'd you get that bottle from, anyway?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well, um...you see..." Miroku stuttered.

"What?" Kouga demanded. "You packed it just in case we happened to meet three girls up here and one just so happened to have a birthday that we got invited to and you had a chance to convince everybody to play Spin The Bottle?"

"Uh...maybe not exactly..." Miroku said. "But it IS always a possibility, isn't it? You have to be prepared for these things."

Inuyasha shook his head in pity. "I don't think there's any hope for you, Miroku."

"Ooooh!" Ayame proclaimed suddenly, waving her hand in the air frantically as if she were in school. "How 'bout we play Truth Or Dare?"

"Yeah!" Kagome agreed.

"But that's a girl game," Inuyasha and Kouga protested in unison.

"Who says?" Sango demanded, hands on hips. "Besides; the birthday girl has chosen and therefore the discussion is over."

The two boys slumped down from their positions on the couch and sulked while Miroku continued to look mournfully at his empty wine bottle.

"Fine!" Sango snapped. "Just to placate Miroku, we'll combine the games! You spin the bottle and whoever it lands on, that's the person you have to ask the question to. Got it?!"

Miroku and everyone else nodded meekly at her imperative tone.

"Alright, then," Sango continued. "Everyone sit in a proper circle." Everyone obeyed. "Miroku place the bottle in the center and since you're holding it, you can go first. And remember, we're playing the extended version."

"Wait-what?" Inuyasha asked in confusion. "What's the extended version?"

"You've never played it before?" Kagome asked him.

"Hey! I told you; Truth Or Dare's a girl's game," Inuyasha responded defensively.

"Whatever," Ayame cut in. "But the extended version is this: truth, dare, double dare, promise to repeat. Then you can add a ton of other options on the end; such as 'kiss command', 'fire in the barn' and 'what if?'."

Kouga looked at her blankly. "What're all those?"

Ayame sighed. "Well, many of them can be interpreted in different ways. But double dare the way we play means both the person asking the question and the person choosing have to do the dare that the person asking chooses. Got that?" Everyone looked at her blankly. "Well, too bad; moving on. Promise to repeat is pretty self-explanatory. The person choosing has to repeat whatever the person asking commands them to say.

"Now; I've heard different versions of kiss command, but the one we play with is the question, 'Who would you rather kiss? This person or that person?' Another version of kiss command that we will under NO circumstances play-" Ayame glared at Miroku, "-is that the person asking commands the person choosing to kiss someone.

"For fire in the barn, we usually play that you ask the choosing person, 'If there was a fire in the barn and you could only save one of these two people, who would it be?' This one can be kinda cruel, especially if you make them choose between friends.

"And the final category: what if? Here you ask the choosing person a what if? question such as, 'What would you do if you were a millionaire?'. Get my drift?" Ayame asked the boys after her lecture.

The boys nodded and Miroku spun the bottle. It landed on Kouga.

"Alright, Kouga; truth, dare, double dare, promise to repeat, kiss command, fire in the barn or what if? ...Jeez, could you make the list any longer?" Miroku protested.

Sango shrugged. "We told you it was the extended version."

"Um..." Kouga looked around trying to decide. His eyes landing on Ayame and deciding this was as good as time as any to impress her, he bravely said, "Dare."

"Okay, your funeral," Miroku said. "Alright, I dare you to..." he smirked, "go out on the balcony and answer some questions that the reporters undoubtably lurking outside will have for you."

Kouga paled considerably and didn't look quite so brave anymore. "H-how many?" he squeaked.

"How many what?" Miroku asked.

"How many questions do I have to answer before I can come back inside?" Kouga asked shakily.

Miroku stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, I'd say about five would do it. Go on, now. We'll wait inside while you go to your doom."

Kouga rose and started walking unsteadily towards the balcony doors. Just as he was about to open them, Ayame called out, "Remember! It's all just pretend! You're leading them along and stringing a tale that's so far from the truth, your private life's safe!"

Kouga flashed her a brief grin before going out on the balcony and shut the doors behind him. Everyone looked at one another anxiously for a few minutes as they waited for their friend to return. They didn't have to wait long as Kouga soon came charging back into the room, out of breath and with a panicked expression on his face.

"...So?" Sango asked after Kouga came and sat back down in the circle. "How'd it go?"

"Well..." Kouga grinned widely, "I did it! I answered five questions pertaining to the competition and my relationship with Ayame. ...But when I said that was all the questions I was going to answer, they started going crazy and asking me really freaky questions; like if I wore perfume or not!" Kouga said indignantly. Unfortunately for him, everyone else burst out laughing.

"Come to think of it," Ayame said slyly, "you DO smell pretty good, Kouga."

"He does?" Kagome asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ayame realized what she'd just confessed and blushed. "So what? He does," she muttered and Kouga went just as red.

"Anyways," Inuyasha yawned. "It's your turn, Kouga. Spin the damn bottle."

Kouga did just that and it landed on Ayame. "Alright, Ayame, I lay before you the list which I am too lazy to repeat and give you the option of choosing."

"Uh...I'm gonna say truth," Ayame said.

"Uh, okay...um...Ayame, how many boyfriends have you had in total?" Kouga asked.

Ayame blushed and looked down. "Uh...well...not...really any...I guess..."

Making a thoughtful noise, Kouga leaned back with a fairly satisfied look on his face as Ayame spun the bottle.

Kagome watched the nose of the bottle point to her and immediately picked truth.

"Girls are so boring," Inuyasha muttered. "Do you ALWAYS pick truth?"

Kagome glared at him and turned back to Ayame who said, "Alright, Kagome; what do you truly think of Inuyasha?"

Kagome blanched. "Say what?"

Ayame smirked. "You heard me. What do you think of Inuyasha? And your answer must include ALL of his qualities."

Kagome fiddled nervously with the scarf she was still holding and avoided looking at Inuyasha. "Um...well, okay...for starters he's usually a big jerk..."

"Hey!" Inuyasha protested.

"...but, um...he can sometimes...be...um...sweet and funny..." Kagome mumbled. "But most of the time he's really arrogant! Especially when it comes to his ski racing...but, then again...he IS an awesome skier...and-get that smirk off your face!" Kagome said accusingly to Inuyasha before continuing. "And...and...oh, why am I being made to do this! Ayame, this is so cruel!"

"I don't believe you're finished yet," Ayame said with a smirk.

"Fine, but I'll get my revenge later..." Kagome grumbled. "Okay...well, I guess I have to say that he's got the best hair I've ever come across...really smooth and silky...plus his eyes are unlike any I've ever seen before...but he can be a real jerk! Like now; when he's smirking his head off at my humiliation!"

Inuyasha's expression slipped into one of indignation.

"...But when he bought me those ice dancing tickets just to make me happy for my birthday, that was so sweet..." Inuyasha blushed. "And, um...um...well...I can understand why he has a ton of fangirls!" Kagome said all in one rushed breath before blushing and quickly giving the bottle a spin. When it landed on Sango, she picked dare, but in her flustered state, Kagome couldn't think of a good one. "I'll just save it for later," Kagome promised her ominously.

"You can do that?" Kouga asked.

Ayame shrugged. "I don't see why not."

The bottle spun by Sango next landed on Ayame, who chose fire in the barn. Sango leaned back thoughtfully. "Alright, Ayame. This is a tough one so listen carefully... If there was a fire in the barn and you only had time to save one of these two people, who would you choose? Hiten, that creepy snowboarder, or Naraku?"

Ayame looked stumped. "That's cruel, Sango...I mean to make me choose between two incredibly sexy hunks such as them..." At Kouga's incredulous look, she added, "I'm joking! Like anyone could think anything good about those creepy guys... But I think I'll have to choose Hiten to save because at least HE didn't present himself in a speedo!"

"True," Sango said in agreement. "Your turn to spin."

Ayame did just that and the nose of the bottle ended up pointing at Inuyasha.

"Uh...I dunno..." Inuyasha said hesitantly.

"He chooses kiss command," Miroku supplied.

"I-what?!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Fair enough," Ayame nodded. "Alright, Inuyasha. Who would you rather kiss? Hilary Duff or-"

"Hey, wait! I never chos-"

"-Kagome?" Ayame finished.

"What?" Inuyasha stared at her stupidly.

"Hilary Duff or Kagome. Who would you rather kiss?" Ayame pressed.

"Hilary Duff? Ick! Definitely Kagome." Inuyasha's eyes widened as he realized what he'd admitted. "I mean-" He caught sight of Kagome's anxious expression. "Oh, whatever..." he muttered and relaxed as he saw Kagome's expression turn to one of relief. He spun the bottle rapidly and it landed on Miroku.

Leaning forward and propping his elbows up on his knees, Miroku said, "Alright Inuyasha; I choose double dare."

"Um...I don't know," Inuyasha said, frustrated. "I can't think of anything."

"What's wrong, Inuyasha?" Miroku taunted. "Surely it's not that difficult to think up one measly dare. I know your brain isn't exactly what we'd call the largest thing on the planet, but-"

"Urgh! I dare you to keep your mouth shut for the next fifteen minutes; if that's possible!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Um, Inuyasha; that was a double dare," Kagome pointed out.

"Meaning what?" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "If you'd been listening earlier you would know that it means you have to do the dare too. Double as in both of you..." Kagome said slowly, trying to make her point.

"Hey! Well, then I want to take my dare back!" Inuyasha protested.

"Too late," Ayame told him. "Your shutting-up time starts now. Neither of you two can talk for the next fifteen minutes."

Both Inuyasha and Miroku crossed their arms and sulked for a moment before Miroku remembered that it was his turn to spin the bottle. The nose ended up pointing at Sango, and, believing it was the only safe option considering it was Miroku dictating what she did, she chose promise to repeat.

Miroku immediately grabbed a pen and a notepad off of the coffee table and began to scribble furiously. After a moment, he handed it over to Sango for her to read.

Her eyes scanned the page before she raised her head and protested loudly, "There's no way I'm reading this out loud!"

Everyone gave her a look that clearly said she would or else... "Fine!" Sango grumbled. "But just so you all know; these words are completely false and not my true thoughts at all!"

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Obviously. That's what promise to repeat usually is. Just go ahead and read it."

Sango took a deep breath and began. "'I, Sango, am so completely enamored by this hot stud here known as Miroku. I feel I must finally accept his advances and date him. I don't know if I can resist his manly physique or boyish charm much longer; I love him so much and must tell him as quickly as possible!'" Sango's face went beet red as Kouga, Ayame and Kagome burst out laughing. Inuyasha was still bound by his silent dare, and was trying his utmost to suppress his chuckles.

Miroku, on the other hand, looked slyly at Sango before scribbling something on the notepad Sango had thrown back at his head. 'Sango, I never knew.'

"Oh, please," Sango said. "You know it wasn't true." Miroku shook with silent laughter.

She spun the bottle and it landed back on Inuyasha. He snatched the notepad from Miroku and wrote, 'dare.'

"Alrighty then..." Sango looked speculatively at Inuyasha. "I dare you to...let Kagome play and do whatever she wants with your hair for the rest of the night."

As Inuyasha's eyes widened in horror, Kagome squealed happily. Inuyasha shook his head frantically.

"Oh, now, come on, Inuyasha. You wouldn't want to upset the birthday girl, now would you?" Sango asked nonchalantly. "What do you say, Inuyasha? Do you dare?"

Inuyasha's eyebrows lowered and he wrote his name, Inuyasha Dareshi, down on the notepad so that everyone could see. Then, he scratched out the last 'hi' of his last name to leave, 'Inuyasha Dares.'

"Oooh, a smart aleck," Sango retorted. Redirecting her attention to Kagome, she said, "Go ahead, Kagome. His hair's all yours."

Kagome, her eyes shining, reached a trembling hand over to Inuyasha's silvery tresses as he regarded her warily. As her hand came in contact with the silky strands, she began running it through them, untangling any tangles as she went. Her other hand soon joined it and she began fiddling and playing with his hair like she'd longed to do ever since she'd first seen it.

Inuyasha soon relaxed under her ministrations and closed eyes. After a few minutes, he heard a loud cough. He opened his eyes to find the others all looking at him expectantly. He snapped out of his trance when he realized it was his turn to spin the bottle. As he did, it landed on Miroku once again and they both fought for the notepad before Miroku finally won and scribbled 'dare' onto it. It was quickly snatched back by Inuyasha who then looked around the room for something humiliating to subject his friend to.

His eyes landed on Kagome's new Aqua CD and he smirked. He remembered something and his smirk grew even larger. Checking to make sure he and Miroku's fifteen minutes were up, he leaned over to Kagome and whispered his idea into her ear. She adopted a sly look and nodded. The two of them turned back to the group.

"Alright...Miroku..." Inuyasha said with a smirk. "Here's your dare: you must sing Barbie Girl by Aqua. You being Barbie."

Miroku just stared at him a moment before trying to speak. "Uh...w-what?"

"Don't play dumb. You heard me fine," Inuyasha said, crossing his arms and adopting a satisfied smirk.

"I refuse! It's irrational; it's impossible; it's against my religion!" Miroku protested.

Inuyasha just waved him off more insistently.

Miroku fumed for a moment before his shoulders slumped and he reluctantly arose from where he was sitting. As he shuffled over to where Kagome had left her new CD, Sango said, "Oh, this should be ve~ery amusing."

"Oh, and Sango," Kagome said, as if an idea had just popped into her head. "I still have a dare to give you don't I? How about you go up there and sing the role of Ken, hmmm?"

"W-what?!" Sango screeched.

"Go on, now. Barbie's waiting," Kagome scolded, shooing her off with her hand before using it to continue to braid Inuyasha's hair.

Sango gave her one last glare before joining Miroku by the CD player he'd brought out from his room. "Alright, lech, let's get this over with."

Miroku popped the CD in the player and selected song three. As the music started up, Sango, looking like she was going to her death said in a false sexy voice, "Hiya, Barbie!"

Miroku spoke up in an excited, falsetto voice, "Hi, Ken!"

Sango rolled her eyes before continuing the song. "Wanna go for a ride?"

"Sure, Ken!" Miroku exclaimed.

"Jump in!" Sango said, then took a step back as Miroku tried advancing towards her.

Miroku spread his arms towards her and sang the first verse.

"I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie world,

Life in plastic,

It's fantastic!"

For the next verse, he pulled out the tie in his hair and let it fall down to his shoulders. Running a hand through his locks, he continued singing, 

"You can brush my hair,

Undress me everywhere, ("Don't you even think about it, Miroku!" Sango warned.)

Imagination, life is your creation."

Sango squared her shoulders and sang her line, "Come on, Barbie, let's go party!"

Clasping his hands together in a dreamy pose, Miroku stepped forward once more.

"I'm a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie world,

Life in plastic,

It's fantastic!"

He repeated his actions of stroking his hair for the same verse:

"You can brush my hair,

Undress me everywhere,

Imagination, life is your creation."

Fluffing his hair and fluttering his eyelashes, he sang,

"I'm a blond bimbo girl, in a fantasy world

Dress me up, make it tight, I'm your dolly."

Sango then came forward and sang in an imitation of Ken,

"You're my doll, rock'n'roll, feel the glamour in pink,

Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky..."

When she realized what she'd just said, her eyes widened before snapping shut as she winced in preparation for what Miroku would undoubtably do next.

Instead of what she expected, however, she felt a light touch from his arm around her waist and a warm, tingling sensation as his lips pressed lightly to her cheek.

Backing away from the startled girl, Miroku continued the song as if nothing had happened.

"You can touch, you can play, if you say: 'I'm always yours!'"

Flipping his hand at the laughing audience, he teased, "Uu-oooh-u!" before mimicking his previous actions for the next chorus.

Finally snapping out of her daze by Miroku's antics, Sango suddenly jumped into her role with energy.

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

Strutting back and forth, Miroku added, "Ah-ah-ah-yeah!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Uu-oooh-u!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Ah-ah-ah-yeah!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

Uu-oooh-u!"

As Sango forcefully made him walk and then moved his jaw with her hand, Miroku continued the song,

"Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please," Miroku spread his arms wide, "I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees!" He fell down to his knees in front of Sango and clasped his hands together in a begging gesture.

Trying not to giggle, Sango gestured for him to come to her as she sang,

"Come jump in, bimbo friend, let us do it again,

Hit the town, fool around, let's go party."

Still on his knees, Miroku shuffled towards her, his arms spread wide in a comical fashion, and sang in a pleading tone,

"You can touch, you can play, if you say: 'I'm always yours!'

You can touch, you can play, if you say: 'I'm always yours!'"

Sango laughed before grabbing one of his outstretched hands and pulling him to his feet.

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Ah-ah-ah-yeah!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Uu-oooh-u!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Ah-ah-ah-yeah!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Uu-oooh-u!"

Running his hands through his hair again, Miroku repeated the chorus once more. During the next repetition of the chorus, however, Sango joined in and sang it with him, also running her hands through her hair. Most of their words were incoherent, however, since they were laughing so hard.

For the last little exchange, Sango and Miroku started to do a bit of a funny tango together, Sango acting as the male and Miroku as the female.

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Ah-ah-ah-yeah!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Uu-oooh-u!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Ah-ah-ah-yeah!"

"Come on Barbie, let's go party!"

"Uu-oooh-u!"

At this point, Sango dipped Miroku and they stayed in that position as they spoke the final few lines.

Gazing up at Sango from his awkward position, Miroku said in high voice, "Oh, I'm having so much fun!"

Sango looked down and attempted to suppress her giggles. "Well Barbie, we're just getting started."

To end the song with a bang, Miroku spread his free arm wide and exclaimed to the room, "Oh, I love you, Ken!"

The music ended and Ayame quickly shut of the stereo before collapsing on the ground in a fit of giggles. None of the other audience members were doing much better, as they were all on the floor and couldn't stop laughing enough to utter a single word.

Sango pulled Miroku up out of the dip and they bowed elegantly before returning to their places and looking around innocently.

"It's my turn to spin now, right?" Miroku asked as if nothing had transpired.

Kouga waved his hand vaguely at his friend and managed to get a "No more! No more!" out as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"I agree," Kagome giggled. "I think we'd better stop playing Truth Or Dare now before we all die of laughter!"

"So what should we do, then?" Sango asked.

A loud grumbling of Inuyasha's stomach ensued.

"I guess that answers that question..." Miroku said dryly.

"Hey!" Inuyasha protested. "I never got to have lunch and now it's pressing supper time!"

"That's right!" Kagome recalled. "You were going to make my a birthday lunch! What ever happened to that?"

"Uh...well, it was really only a way to get you inside," Inuyasha said uncomfortably. "Plus it was way past lunch when I said that anyway. I'll make you a birthday dinner, how 'bout that? With these guys as kitchen aids, of course," Inuyasha offered.

"That sounds...nice," Kagome smiled.

"And we can eat it while watching a movie!" Ayame squealed.

"No more stupid scary movies!" Sango warned.

"A comedy!" Kagome exclaimed. "I get to pick! ...You guys do have some movies with you in here, right?" she asked the boys, unsure.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Of course we do. What do you think we were gonna do every evening if we hadn't met you guys?"

Kagome held up her hands in an appeasing gesture. "Fine, fine. I'll check out what movies you guys have, then, while you all make a special birthday dinner!"

"Oh! Kagome...aren't you forgetting something...?" Inuyasha asked as he suddenly remembered something.

"...What?" Kagome asked uncertainly.

"Oh, I don't know...something about a certain person who you promised to call on your birthday because you were sure to be skinned alive if you didn't...? Any of this ringing a bell...?" Inuyasha asked slowly.

Kagome looked at him puzzled for a moment for adopting a panicked expression. "Oh, my gosh; I forgot to call my mother! Okay, you guys cook and I'll call her!"

Inuyasha chuckled as she dashed to the phone and he led his kitchen staff to the kitchen to prepare a meal.

As Kagome chatted with her mother, the others were hard at work in the kitchen, conjuring delicious smells as they cooked lasagna. To compliment the lasagna, Ayame and Sango also made a caesar salad under the direction of the head chef, Inuyasha, who had coincidently found a large, pouffy chef's hat somewhere and placed it on his head.

Once Kagome got off the phone, she selected The Emperor's New Groove as their movie to watch and the others came out one by one with a plate of food along with drinks and utensils.

Sango and Miroku sat together on one of the couches while Kouga and Ayame claimed the other. Kagome and Inuyasha were content to sit on the floor with their backs against Sango and Miroku's couch.

They started the movie and were soon laughing their heads off. Their meals were gone in the blink of an eye and they all sat them down on the coffee table in order to deal with them later.

At one point in the movie, Kagome laughed so hard, she fell against Inuyasha and neither he or Kagome noticed how his arm naturally slipped around her waist as they continued to laugh their heads off.

Sango was curled around one of Miroku's arms and giggling into his shoulder, and he was too absorbed in the movie to try anything perverted.

Kouga attempted the trick of yawning and placing an arm around Ayame's shoulders, but unfortunately, she noticed. Fortunately, however, she only giggled and snuggled into his side.

Once the movie was over, Sango lazily turned of the TV and VCR since the remote was closest to her hand. Nobody, however, seemed inclined to move from their positions.

On the contrary, Sango sleepily noticed that everyone had basically fallen asleep once the credits had started rolling. Either that, or they were all faking it in order to have an excuse not to move...

Sango looked at Miroku's potentially sleeping face and shrugged. 'Works for me!' she thought as she laid her head down on Miroku's shoulder and started to doze off. 'After all, he can't be perverted in his sleep...'

How wrong she was...

~*~

A/N IMPORTANT: I realize that the karioke song situation is similar to a few other fics; such as 'You!' by Sakura-chan88 (the fact that Miroku sang karioke to one of the girls on her birthday) and 'The School Trip From Hell' by Beautiful-Stranger01 (the fact that it was the song "Barbie Girl"). I, however, thought up this idea before I read their awesome fics, so I did not steal their brilliant ideas. Just to make sure it was okay, though, I asked both of them, and they readily consented. Just wanted to clear that up if any of you just so happened to be about to flame me for stealing (which I don't think any of you would be, since you're all super nice! ^_^). 

*lets out long breath* Wow, that is my longest chapter yet. It's on its twelfth page! That's almost double the length of my usual chapters! Don't ya just love me right now? Fluff, humour, singing; it had it all, didn't it? And just think...they still have to wake up and face the fun adventures of the next day...^_~ Hope to hear your thoughts/comments/fav. parts of this chapter so give me a shout! And remember, if you want to read the ski tutorial I'll be writing (it won't be ridiculously long just too long to write right now), just give me your email address in your review and I shall send it your way. Okey dokey, that's enough out of me for this chapter; talk to ya later!


	21. Rise and Shine

Disclaimer: I love you, you love me, we're a big happy family! ...Too bad no members of this happy family own Inuyasha...I think the happy family just became distinctly sad...

A/N Yes, first and foremost (since I was gonna say this in the end A/N of last chapter, but forgot), I saw many/all of you loved the Aqua/Barbie Girl song thing. I just wanted to point out one reason why it's so appropriate. The voice actors who do the voices of Miroku and Sango (the dubbed version), Kirby Morrow and Kelly Sheridan, have had the characters they play hook up in three completely different situations/series. One, as we all know and love, in Inuyasha as Miroku and Sango. Two, in Escaflowne, as Van and Hitomi. And three, none other than...dun, dun, dun...Barbie and the Nutcracker as Ken/the Nutcracker and Barbie/Claire! 'Course, in that movie, Kirby Morrow was Ken and Kelly Sheridan Barbie, but...Miroku makes a much better Barbie, wouldn't you agree?

Congrats to MichelleAnneSummers for being my 400th reviewer! *getting teary eyed* I'd like to thank Calum and Spacewolf and Lauren and Bobby and Sue and Georgina and Maria and Matt and Michael and Richard and Diana and Amelia and...*goes on for another hour, thanking people you don't know* (By the way, I don't know them either...except for the first three)

xo-Kagome-ox, yay, I updated! In the name of Canada! ^_^ Thanks for coming to read my fic by the way and for the multitudes of compliments, lol. I'm going to review your latest chapter soon, I swear. I've just been so busy...stupid school...^_~

Yes, Soul of Kagome, you win a prize! Ding, ding, ding! You win a...um...uh...ummm...could I get back to you on that? That show reference of "It's irrational. It's impossible. It's against my relgion." was actually a request awhile ago so I put it in where I saw fit. ^_^

And for those of you waiting for the ski tutorial, fear not! I will write it and send it to you, just don't hold me as to when. I have a ridiculously busy schedule at the moment and I'll write it as soon as I find some free time.

To all you out there wondering how long my fic will be...let's just say we just finished Saturday of their first week and they have two weeks...I'm gonna estimate half done...

So read on, lovely readers...!

~*~

"You...stupid...pervert...I...have...never...been...groped...so...much...in...my...entire...life!" Sango's pleasant screeching reached Ayame's groggy mind as sun berated her face, forcing her to grimace and open her eyes.

Besides feeling pleasantly warm, the only other odd thing Ayame noticed that fine morning was the picture of Sango beating a black and blue Miroku, who was actually still asleep. It was probably safe to say he hadn't woken up all night and would continue to remain in his unconscious state under Sango's "gentle" ministrations.

"Buh-buh?" Ayame asked incoherently.

Sango whirled around and fixed her with an enraged stare before relaxing. "Oh, it's you, Ayame. Good morning; have a good sl-? Pervert!!" She turned back around in order to slap Miroku's hands and face with a sickening sound.

Ayame cringed. "Are you sure he deserves that?" she asked, yawning.

Sango glared at her. "If you had been me last night, you wouldn't have the audacity to ask that."

Ayame shrugged. "Fine; whatever." She lay her head back down on her warm and comfy pillow. Noticing Sango's smirk, Ayame looked at her suspiciously. "What?"

"Are you sure you're completely awake, Ayame?" Sango asked, openly grinning.

"Of course I'm not," Ayame responded sleepily. "It's morning. Who's ever awake in the morning? And why do you ask?"

Sango shrugged. "Oh, I don't know," she said nonchalantly. "It might have something to do with the fact that you haven't seemed to realize that we spent the entire night with the guys last night and, well, that your pillow is more than what it seems..." she finished slyly.

"My pillow is wha...?" Ayame looked down at where her head had been to discover navy blue material from a shirt. She followed it upwards with her eyes until it gave way to the skin of a neck which grew into a sleeping face with dark hair framing it. Ayame stared blankly at it for a minute before it clicked. "Kouga?!"

The eyelids on the sleeping face shot open to reveal startled bright blue eyes. The boy sat bolt upright, his arm draped around Ayame's shoulders causing her to be flung across his lap. "What? Who's there? What's going on? Did you save the sparkle-haired ponies?!"

"I'm pretty sure they got out okay..." Sango said slowly.

"Oh, good," Kouga said, slumping back onto the couch.

"Um...excuse me...?!" Ayame shouted indignantly in a muffled voice from where her face was stuffed into the fabric of the couch.

Kouga looked down confusedly at the red-haired girl spread across his lap. "I could have sworn that wasn't there before..."

Sango rolled her eyes. "No shit, Sherlock."

As Kouga continued to ponder how a girl happened to be flung across his lap, Ayame angrily scrambled up, red-faced and completely awake. "Why, you...you...offensive-because-you're-not-quite-awake-yet person!" Ayame shouted, pointing a finger in his face.

Kouga yawned in her face. "I'm tired, mommy. Can I go back to bed?"

Ayame gaped at him for a moment before assuming a devilish expression. "I know how to get you up... Kouga! Don't look now, but the reporters are here!"

Kouga's head snapped up and he shot off the couch, grabbing Ayame and swinging her around. He grasped her tightly with both arms around her waist and held her in front of him like a shield. "Where?! Where!?"

He looked down suspiciously when he heard Ayame start to giggle and slump against him for support. "Y-you're so funny!" Ayame gasped out between laughs. "You shoulda seen y-your face!"

Even Sango's laughter was heard across the room and Kouga blushed before leading Ayame, who was still leaning on him, back to the couch. He sat down beside her and crossed his arms, sulking. "That wasn't funny!" he protested.

Ayame reached a hand up and patted him on the head. Between giggles, she said, "Oh, don't sulk. It was a joke. You know I love you."

Even uttered as a jest, Kouga couldn't help but hope there was an underlying truth to those words.

~*~

Comfy. Safe. Warm. Mmmm...

Those were the thoughts going through the recesses of Kagome's sleepy mind at that moment.

So comfy...

It didn't feel like her bed, though. Didn't even feel like the bed in the condo they'd rented.

But it was comfy. Much comfier than either of those beds. She didn't REALLY have to wake up yet. It wasn't mandatory. She could stay here a little longer...

Then came the giggling. The irritating laughing reaching her ears that was like a bad itch; she couldn't scratch it in order to make it go away. It kept rousing her from her comfy bliss.

Her brows furrowed. Why couldn't the owners of those laughs just be quite and allow her to remain in her perfect unawareness of the world? Now she was practically awake and couldn't enjoy the comfiness to its full extent.

What was the source of the comfiness, anyway? It wasn't a bed so what could it be?

Reluctantly but curiously, Kagome cracked an eye open to see her head was resting on a red shirt covering a muscular chest.

Ah, so that's what it was. A chest. Now that that was figured out, she could go back to sleep...

Wait-what? A chest?!

Kagome's eyes flew open and took in her surroundings. She found herself draped across Inuyasha, her head on his chest and her right arm across his stomach. She could also feel his arm wrapped around her waist.

"I-Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered quietly. She could tell Ayame, Kouga and Sango were having a conversation above her and certainly didn't want to advert their attention to her position.

After receiving no response, she looked up at his face. He was still asleep and there was a happy expression across his features.

"Okay..." Kagome muttered. "I can still salvage my pride...if I just kinda sneak away without the others noticing..."

She tried to push herself up slowly and back away silently. Tried.

As soon as she twitched a muscle, Inuyasha's arm tightened around her waist and pressed her more tightly against him, murmuring something that sounded suspiciously like, "Teddy."

She tried to push herself up again, but his arm tightened its grip even more and she was all but squashed against his chest. Not like she was exactly complaining or anything, but anytime now the others might...

"Hey, Kagome. Looks like you've got yourself a problem there."

Kagome winced at the smug tone of Sango's voice and the responding chuckles of the other two awake individuals. She heard footsteps before Kouga's voice sounded above her, "Alright, Kagome. I'll wake him up for you. But, man...I wish Miroku were awake...he could be a big help in getting Inuyasha up... Kagome, just try not to get hit by any flying limbs."

Kagome pried her face out of the crevices of Inuyasha's hardened chest in order to protest. "It's okay, Kouga; really! Watch." She reached up her free hand and placed it softly on Inuyasha's cheek as she had done at her condo the previous day. After a few moments, Inuyasha's eyes fluttered open and Kagome snatched back her hand.

There was a thud as Kouga fell to the floor on his butt. "But...how did you...? What kind of sorcery...? How in anyone's name did you manage...?" Kouga cut off from his rambling in order to simply gape at the pair.

"Ugh...what's going on...?" Inuyasha asked groggily, sitting up and rubbing his head with the hand that wasn't residing on Kagome's waist.

"Well..." Kagome started and Inuyasha looked down at her in surprise. "You were trying to claim me as your teddy and Kouga was just about to wake you using forceful measures when I instead woke you up, gently, so that you could release your death grip on me."

Inuyasha looked down in shock at his arm that was tightly wrapped around her waist and pressing her body against his. He blushed crimson and released her quickly with a very loud, "Keh!" He crossed his arms and avoided making eye contact.

"Sango! Love hurts, but I will prevail and win your heart!"

Everyone in the room looked over at Miroku was still unconscious and now uttering love declarations. After his statement, however, he seemed to rouse from his sprawled position on the floor. Sango quickly crossed to the other side of the room and hid behind Ayame.

"Ow, my head..." Miroku mumbled, sitting up and clutching the main source of his pain.

"Rise and shine, Miroku!" Kouga said. "Better go get ready for a new skiing day!" he continued a bit forcefully as he helped Ayame keep Sango from sight.

Miroku shrugged and started for his room, muttering bewilderingly, "You know, I had the nicest dream last night. It was pure bliss." He began digging around in his room and throwing various things behind them as they turned out not to be what he was looking for. "It was all about Sango, too. Truly the best dream I've ever had..."

Sango shoved Kouga and Ayame out of her way and stormed into Miroku's room. "Why you-" She was cut off abruptly as a purple, sparkly feather boa smacked her in the face. Pulling it away and looking at it disbelievingly, she stuttered, "Uh...M-Miroku...? What exactly are you doing with a f-feather boa...?"

Miroku whirled around at the sound of her voice. "Oh, Sango...I-I didn't know you were there."

Sango fumed again. "Of course I was there! We slept together, remember?! ...No, wait! That sounded bad! We slept NEXT to each other. And that dream was more then a stupid dream, you pervert!"

"Ah, so that's why it started getting so painful..." Miroku mused.

Sango glared before holding up the object in her hand again. "That still doesn't answer the question of why you have a purple, sparkly feather boa in your room!"

Miroku glanced at it a moment before he seemed to recognize it. "Oh, that! Rin gave it to me to hide from Sesshoumaru."

"Why would you have to hide it from Sesshoumaru?" Sango asked, confused.

"Well, it's going to be part of Fluffy's next costume. And obviously, Sesshoumaru would destroy it thoroughly if he ever knew and got his hands on it so Rin entrusted it to me," Miroku said as if him having a purple, sparkly feather boa in his possession was a perfectly explicable occurrence.

"I see..." Sango said slowly. "Well...I'll leave you to your clothing scrounging, then..." She slowly backed out of the room.

"Hurry up and get ready, guys," Ayame was saying to Kouga and Inuyasha. "We'll never get out skiing if you refuse to stand up for another hour."

"Yeah, and while you get ready, us girls will make breakfast," Kagome said cheerfully.

"Actually," Ayame cut in. "I'm going to go to the lodge for a quick minute to grab a hot chocolate. I should be back soon."

"'Kay," Sango snuck herself into the conversation. "Well, boys? Get crackin'!"

With a few grumbles and groans, Inuyasha and Kouga rose and shuffled towards their rooms, Inuyasha still avoiding eye contact with Kagome.

Kagome and Sango began cooking some bacon, eggs and toast as the sound of showers beginning to run filled the air. As the boys emerged, fully clothed and toweling their hair dry, the girls just finished cooking. Ayame also entered soon after, out of breath from laughing.

Everyone looked at her suspiciously. "What is it?" Inuyasha asked slowly.

Ayame shook her head and held out two tabloids she had clutched in her mittened hand.

One was a picture of Kouga striking a hero's pose on the balcony outside; his arms outstretched and reaching for the sky. Underneath it, it read, "Elite Fis Racer, Kouga, Declares His Undying Love To 'Ayame'."

Sango snorted. "Nice pose, Kouga."

"It is rather, isn't it?" Kouga said blandly.

The second was a picture of Kagome and Inuyasha covered with bubbles beside a sink containing dirty dishes that had yet to be washed. The heading read, "Are These Affections Bubbling To The Surface?"

There was a distinct thud as Inuyasha's head collided with the table.

"I feel the same way, Inuyasha," Kagome said pityingly as she laid a hand on his back. "The tabloids are completely idiotic and something to be laughed at and yet...ridiculously embarrassing..." She buried her red face in her hands.

"Well, hurry up and let's eat," Sango said. "It's already ten o'clock and us girls still need to get ready at our condo before we can go skiing."

"Yes, ma'am," Kouga said, saluting her sharply.

They all started to dig into their breakfasts, deciding to ignore the insinuating tabloids for the time being. After they had all shoveled down their food, they all got up and prepared to put their skiing equipment on.

"Hey, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked as he began putting on his boots. "Could you go grab my toque from my room?"

"Sure," Kagome said, going into the room which she knew as his. A few minutes later, she stumbled out, clutching her sides. "I-is this it, I-Inuyasha?" she managed to get out.

Inuyasha looked up to see what was making Kagome laugh so hard and immediately went bright red. "Uh...no...that's not quite it..."

Kagome was holding up a beautiful white toque with two dog ears perched on the top and giggling her head off at the same time. "But...it's...so...cute!"

"Rin gave it to me one year as a birthday present..." Inuyasha muttered. "I've never worn it and I never will!"

Meanwhile, Ayame and Sango were climbing into all of their gear. Without looking, Sango reached for her coat and accidently grabbed Ayame's without noticing. She did notice, however, as soon as she put it on and saw the green and yellow fabric of Ayame's coat against the pink and black material of her ski pants.

Ayame saw the combination and cringed. "Ouch. Tacky. Very tacky."

Kagome looked at them slyly for a moment before suggesting, "Hey, how about you two swap each other's jacket, one of each other's boots, one of each other's poles and one of each other's skis for the day? That would be the ultimate tacky! I so dare you!"

Sango and Ayame looked at each other for a moment before grinning stupidly. "We'll take that dare," Ayame said smoothly, "as long as you agree to ski with some of the leftover bright pink streamers wrapped around your poles and hanging from your helmet."

Kagome scrutinized them briefly before nodding and agreeing. "Fine. I'll do it." Then she looked over at the boys who were busy strapping themselves in their boots. "But the boys will feel so alone not being tacky or wearing something embarrassing. I propose Inuyasha has to wear his ear toque."

"Say what?!" Inuyasha yelled. "No way am I wearing that thing!"

Kagome turned back to her friends with a sad expression on her face. "Aw, too bad. It looks like Inuyasha's too much of a wimp to accept the challenge."

"Now, wait a minute," Inuyasha protested, standing up. "I'm am in no way a wimp. I'll wear that stupid hat. I'm not afraid of it!"

Kagome hid her smirk.

"Yes, and I think Kouga should let us girls do his hair for today," Ayame mused, eyeing Kouga's silky tresses.

Kouga covered his hair with his hands. "What are thinking about...?" he asked in a suspicious tone.

"Are you too chicken as well, Kouga?" Ayame challenged.

Kouga straightened and crossed his arms, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "I am perfectly comfortable in my masculinity. Do what you will."

Kagome and Ayame shared triumphant looks as Sango advanced on Miroku.

"And I think our dear pervert should be made to wear the lovely, purple, sparkly feather boa he had secreted in his room for whatever purpose as his scarf for the day," Sango said with a grin.

"I told you why that was there!" Miroku protested. Under Sango's level gaze for a minute, though, he backed down. "Fine." He held his head up high. "I'll do it. I, like Kouga, am perfectly in tune with my Y chromosome. No purple, sparkly feather boa can daunt me!"

The girls smirked at each other as the boys' shoulders slumped.

"Somehow, I think they got the better deal..." Inuyasha muttered to Kouga and Miroku.

~*~

A/N Eek! I am sooo sorry for the huge delay guys! My teachers decided to try on evil for the past week and a half to see how it looked on them. And they concluded that it looked so good that they'd keep it on for a little extra time. And plus, I was away all last weekend. But I have managed to get this chapter out and I can only say sorry and beg for your forgiveness. At least I didn't make it to the two week delay mark...

But I wonder what havoc could be cause by the tackiness next chapter? Plus the entry of everyone's favorite dimwit! I wonder who that could be...hmmm...you'll have to stay tuned to find out!

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter, though! Talk to ya later!

  
  



	22. Skiing in Style

Disclaimer: Je ne possède pas Inuyasha. Je ne suis pas sa propriétaire. Et si vous pouvez comprendre ceci, félicitations.

A/N There ya go, a little french for you; just to keep you on your toes.

I'M FRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That abominable thing known as school is NO MORE!!! Mwuahahahahahaha!!!!!!! I can update! I am SOOO happy right now!

Alright, so you're all wondering about my absence, I'm sure. Well, I hope you all read the various important notes I posted in my bio, but I know that is unlikely. So let me think of a way to explain...

It was mostly school's doing. I had Musical Theatre, Chemistry, World Studies (in french) and French this semester. Musical Theatre takes up two classes so I replaced my lunch period with World Studies. Smart idea? I'm still trying to determine that.

World Studies and French were both taught by one of the strictest and most work-giving teachers. So...for this past month, I've been subjected to: various assignments for French and World Studies, a plan for my french essay, a plan for my World Studies project, the actual essay for French (complete with sources for every argument and support, 1500 words), the actual huge-ass project for World Studies (which is a grade 12 subject by the way - needed sources for every argument and whatnot, 2500 words), a project for Musical Theatre, an oral presentation of the project for Musical Theatre, an oral presentation for my french essay, an oral presentation for my World Studies project (which I did as a slide show), a very large essay for Musical Theatre, the actual musical we put on for four nights, the various tests for French and World Studies, the various tests, assignments, labs, whatever else for Chemistry, and the exams I just had to go through for French (2 and a half hours long), Chemistry (2 and a half hours long) and World Studies (3 hours long).

I don't know about you guys, but doing all of those things pretty much simultaneously really takes something out of me. Not to mention I had a ballet exam on the 17th of May and my dance recital on the 12th of June. Which meant I was dancing at my dance school for three or fours nights a week, taking up time that could have been spent working. So I ended up staying up VERY late at night pretty much every night.

Oh, and on top of that, I got some FANtastic news! coughsarcasmcough You know that knee injury I got in February? You know, the day before my birthday? Well, it just so happens that I completely tore my AC ligament and a bit of cartilage. You know what that means? Yup, you guessed it! Surgery! What fun! That kind of depressed me for a bit, especially since it won't be completely healed for NINE months; which means I can't play any of my sports during that time. No skiing at all next year! I'm gonna die!

Yeah, so that just about wraps things up...I'm going in for surgery Tuesday. tremble I'm kinda freaked about it, but I'm doing everything I can not to think about it.

Okay, so there's all my excuses! I hope you forgive me now because I was quite angry about not being able to update too. There was nothing I wanted to do more, but unfortunately, it wasn't letting me. Grrr...

But, ANYways; moving on. I actually got 55 reviews for last chapter! Holy crap! I'll really try to make it up to you guys, I swear!

Alright, on with some comments that need attention...

Yes, Ameiva, Kouga and Ayame will hook up for real. It's inevitable and we all know it; at least in this fic it is. And I'm sorry about the Leafs. Practically my whole city was rooting for them too, but unfortunately, it was not to be.

Leonardo, I'm sorry that you didn't like how the boys fell for it. But if you think about it, if you challenged those boys by calling them wimps if they didn't accept, I'm pretty sure they'd be agreeing. Maybe with the exception of Miroku. But I think Inuyasha and Kouga would fall for it fairly readily.

And thanks, wouldn't you like to know, for the Ghandi thingy. I'll be sure to change it in my bio.

Don't worry, Aneesha, Batawa lives on with us! sniff lol.

Well, yes, the tackiness should be amusing. That's why I thought of it! And don't ask me how I come up with these ideas; they just come to me. There's no point in trying to decipher the complicated workings of my inane mind.

And thanks everybody for your awesome compliments! They helped me a lot this month when there wasn't much happiness going on for me. I really appreciated it and here's a new chapter to show it!

Well, on with the next chapter...tacky day!

"There's no way."

"Oh, come on, Kouga, it's not that bad."

"Yeah, and you have to come out sometime. You agreed, remember?"

"This is humiliating! There's not a snowball's chance in hell I'm coming out!" Kouga's indignant muffled voice protested through the doorway.

"Stop being such a baby!" Ayame snapped.

The door was abruptly thrown open and an angry looking Kouga stood there, glaring. "I am not a baby!"

Immediately his murderous expression slipped when he heard laughter coming from everyone before him.

"That's hilarious!" Miroku chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "He looks like Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Kouga huffed and crossed his arms.

"I know!" Ayame said, beaming at Kouga. "Isn't he great?!"

"There are two opinions on that..." Kouga muttered.

"Just be thankful they didn't apply eye liner and gold teeth," Inuyasha chuckled.

"Or the clothes," Miroku added.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Kouga mumbled. "At least I'm not wearing a feather boa or a dog-eared toque!"

Miroku and Inuyasha's faces immediately fell and then began sulking.

"Oh, come on, guys," Kagome said in a falsely cheerful voice. "We're ALL wearing something embarrassing that we'd really rather not be seen in public in so let's go out and be humiliated together. At least we're all in the same boat."

"Yeah..." Miroku half-heartedly agreed.

The six teenagers trudged down the inside stairs of the girls' condo and prepared to face the what promised to be a horrible day together.

As they skied down to the chairlift line, they heard various whispering around them.

"Wow," Ayame giggled. "I feel like we're great warriors about to go face our doom in a monumental battle."

"You can say that again," Kagome muttered.

"At least we have Captain Jack Sparrow on our side," Sango said with a grin. Kouga scowled in response.

"And I'm sure Inuyasha's ferocious ears and Miroku's overly-flamboyant look will scare away the enemy no problem," Kagome smirked.

In response, Inuyasha glared, and Miroku flipped the boa over his shoulder.

"Hey, Inuyasha, don't feel too bad," Sango said, pointing over to a kid in front of them. "Look at that kid's hat; it's like a jester's; there's spikes coming out of it and shooting everywhere!"

"I guess..." Inuyasha mumbled. "But I'm wearing dog ears! Isn't that a little worse?!"

"No!" Kagome protested, giggling. "They're adorable! How could you not like them? I love them!"

Inuyasha grumbled a bit more, but generally quit complaining after that.

"Honestly, Inuyasha," Ayame said. "You probably have the best deal out of all of us. It's normal to see people wearing funky hats while skiing. Come to think of it, though, a lot of people wear really tacky outfits too...especially the older skiers who insist on wearing neon colours..."

The others winced at the thought.

"Come on now," Ayame continued. "I'll bet that each of our parents owned one of those tacky, neon one-piece ski suits at one time or another in their life."

Everyone lowered their head in shame.

As they got closer to boarding the chairlift, Sango said, "Well, since this is a quadruple chairlift, I guess two of us have to separate from the group and go on their own."

"I nominate Inuyasha and Kagome," Ayame smirked. "'Cause they just looked so cute together this morning snuggled up with each other."

Inuyasha and Kagome's faces immediately went beet red and suddenly couldn't seem to make eye contact with each other.

Laughing, their other four friends scurried up to board the chairlift and left them behind together. Once alone on the quad chairlift, as far apart form each other they could get, Kagome started trying to fish around for a topic.

"So..."

"Um..."

"Excited about the competition? It's only two days away!" Kagome reminded him with a forced smile.

"Oh, yeah! Um...yeah, I am...real excited...can't wait..."

"Cool..."

"Yeah..."

The blushing pair looked up as laughter reached their ears. Their four friends who had abandoned them were twisted around so they could watch the awkward scene and laugh at their friends' distress.

"What do ya think, Kagome?" Inuyasha muttered to her. "Should we give them head start when we get off or just immediately clobber 'em?"

Kagome pretended to think about it. "Hmm...well, they get off before us so they'll already have a bit of a head start; I say we just clobber them as soon as we get the chance."

"My thoughts exactly."

Their friends expressions turned slightly nervous when they saw the devilish grins on Inuyasha and Kagome's lips.

"We're not going to live to see another day are we?" Kouga asked.

"Nope!" Ayame responded cheerfully. "Better enjoy our lives while we can." In a louder voice, so the pair behind them could hear, she said, "Oh, guys, don't Inuyasha and Kagome make such a cute couple?"

The two behind them sputtered for a moment before each simultaneously crossed their arms, turned away from each other and uttered a very loud, "Keh!"

The others broke out into uncontrolled laughter.

After reaching the top of the chairlift, and Kagome and Inuyasha had effectively "clobbered" their friends, they all went about choosing a hill to ski down. After much debate, they settled on another jump hill.

Once again, the boys took off with gusto and performed some truly amazing jumps. Right behind them was Sango who pulled off a few of the simpler tricks Miroku had taught her. Once Kagome and Ayame caught up with her at the bottom, Kagome spoke up. "So, Sango, I guess Miroku really did teach you a thing or two about jumping. And here I was thinking that it was just your desire to go off and be alone." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her friend.

"Kagome...!"

"Well, if I had my way..."

"Miroku...!"

"Wow, just look at that pine tree! Isn't it simply fascinating?" Miroku suddenly said, diverting his attention to a rather plain-looking coniferous tree beside him, ignoring the rage of Sango's expression and the raised fist that promised pain.

"You know, Miroku," Kouga said, turning to the tree thoughtfully, "I'm pretty sure that that's a spruce, not a pine."

"Are you kidding me? That is most definitely a pine," Miroku protested adamantly.

"Well, it could be cedar," Ayame suggested.

"To be honest, I think it's a fir..." Inuyasha said, eyeing the tree speculatively.

"Hey! I know my trees, thank you very much, and I insist that it's a pine!" Miroku said, starting to lose his perpetual cool.

"What do you think, Sango?" Kagome said, turning to her friend who had long stopped fuming to watch the pointless argument before her.

"Uh...a hemlock?"

"What?!" four other angry voices exclaimed.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, calm down, all of you. I mean, after all, it's just a stupid-eek!"

Inuyasha's head snapped up. "What?! What's wrong!?"

"Ack, let's hide! It's...it's the snowboarders!" Kagome exclaimed, pointing at a group of teenagers a little ways off.

"What the...whoa, it is!" Kouga said, suddenly spotting them. "If they see us..."

"...They may actually put out their cigarettes and come after us..." Inuyasha finished the sentence dryly.

"I think if we just slipped over to the lodge now, we might be able to avoid them..." Miroku said out of the side of his mouth.

"We'd better not move too fast, though, or it'll catch their attention..." Sango muttered.

"Alright, everyone ready for Escape Plan Beta?" Kouga asked.

"What the heck is Beta?" Inuyasha asked.

"It's Greek for the letter B. Quit complaining, let's just go," Kouga muttered back.

"But why'd you call it Beta?" Kagome asked.

"'Cause it sounded cool!" Kouga said.

"Oh, okay..."

"Makes sense..."

"Are we all good now?" Miroku asked. "Everyone set for Escape Plan Beta? ...Though it SHOULD be Escape Plan Alpha since Alpha's the Greek letter of A and TECHNICALLY, this is Escape Plan A, not B..."

Kouga stood there, massaging his temples. "Who REALLY cares?! Can't we just get out of here before the stupid snowboarders see us?!"

"Oh, yeah..."

"Almost forgot about them..."

"Is everyone ready this time for Escape Plan Beta or Alpha or whatever?" Sango asked.

"You know, it's not much of a plan..." Ayame spoke up. Kouga glared at her. "I'll shut up now," she said meekly.

"Everyone cool with the plan? Ready? Okay, then; break!" Sango said as if they were in a football huddle.

The six companions slowly started to make their way to the lodge without catching the attention of the dreaded snowboarders off in the distance. After about two minutes of a ridiculously slow pace, however, Inuyasha became fed up.

"This is stupid! I'm not tiptoeing around for a bunch of smoking wimps! I'll just fall back on Escape Plan Gamma!"

"There's an Escape Plan Gamma?" Kagome asked Sango. "Since when was there an Escape Plan Gamma?"

"Since I made one!" Inuyasha said.

"And what is this glorious new plan of yours?" Miroku asked.

Inuyasha shrugged. "Skate as fast as you can for the lodge."

Everyone looked at one another. "Sounds good."

"Let's go!"

The six friends took off, and reached the lodge unseen by the snowboarders, who were too absorbed in their cigarettes to notice them.

"You know; thinking about, I think we should've just gone up a chairlift," Kagome said. "Now we're stuck in here until they leave!"

"Well, might as well make ourselves comfortable!" Inuyasha said, flopping down at a table.

A few girls were sitting at a table nearby and their whispers floated to the six friends' ears. "Oh, my god, that's Inuyasha!" one whispered frantically.

"He's sooo hot!" another squealed.

"Oh, look at his hat! That's so cute!"

"I want one now! It must be the hip thing to do!"

"Uhhh..." Ayame and Kouga looked at each other for a moment before desperately trying to smother their laughter.

"He's so dreamy..." one girl said, starry-eyed, as she gazed at the back of Inuyasha's head.

"Such a hunk..."

Inuyasha, meanwhile, was going beet red and quickly snatched the hat off his head.

"I wonder if he'd go out on a date with me if I asked him?" one girl piped up. Many giggles ensued from her friends.

"Why don't you go over and say hello?" Miroku suggested slyly. "Why, if I had that many female admirers, I'd..."

"You'd what?" Sango asked, her eyebrow twitching.

Miroku glanced nervously at her. "Uh, just exchange pleasantries about the weather, I'm sure."

"That's what I thought..." Sango muttered, sitting down at the table. Miroku sat down beside her as Kagome sat down next to Inuyasha. Kouga and Ayame sat across from one another at one of the ends.

After a few moments of silence, Ayame piped up. "Think they're gone yet?"

Kouga shook his head. "Not a chance. It's early morning. They probably have ten packs of cigarettes to get through."

"Yeah, but they have to save some for when they take up their normal positions in the middle of the hill," Inuyasha reminded him.

Kouga nodded thoughtfully. "True. Alright, well, they'll probably smoke five packs down here then five up there. In either case, we're gonna have to wait awhile..."

A few more moments of silence ensued before Miroku muttered, "I still say it was a pine..."

Ayame groaned and Kagome let her head fall forward and hit the table with a resounding 'thunk.' "Miroku!" Sango said. "You just HAD to bring that up again, didn't you?!"

"Well, I didn't see anyone else trying to start a conversation," Miroku said calmly.

"How about how we'll probably dominate the front page of the local paper with our funky outfits?" Kagome suggested gloomily, noticing all the stares being sent their way.

"I thought that was a given and needed no discussion," Ayame said, just as gloomy.

Everyone lazily glanced around their surroundings a few moments more in the now familiar silence.

"I am SO bored..." Inuyasha muttered.

"Good mmmorning, fellow skiers!"

Inuyasha and Kagome started as an arm belonging to the owner of the overly cheerful voice was flung around each of their shoulders and a boy about their age squeezed himself into the space between them. Looking at him in utter surprise, everyone noticed he had light brown hair, brown eyes and a somewhat vapid look about him; something that was accented by his large, incredibly cheerful and oblivious smile.

"And how is everyone doing this morning?" the strange boy asked as if everyone at the table weren't examining him like a new specimen brought into the lab.

"I've been better..." Inuyasha muttered, rudely shrugging the boy's arm off his shoulders. When he noticed the boy's other arm was still around Kagome's shoulders, however, his temper was quick to rise. "Hey! Get your hands off her!" he snapped.

The boy hastily released his grip around Kagome's shoulders as he saw the murderous look on Inuyasha's face. The others around the table tried to keep their snickers to a minimum. "My apologies," the boy said humbly, trying to appease the silver-haired boy. He turned and looked earnestly at Kagome. "I didn't mean any offense."

Kagome giggled. "None taken; don't worry."

Inuyasha let a low rumbling sound emit from the back of his throat.

"Down, boy," Miroku muttered from across from him.

"Ah, you poor thing!" the boy was saying to Kagome. "You look terribly cold." He snapped his fingers. "I know just the thing! How about I buy you some hot chocolate to warm you up?"

Miroku looked at him appraisingly and started a commentary. "Oooh, very smooth. This guy's good."

"Shut up, Miroku," Inuyasha muttered.

"Um...it's okay..." Kagome said in response to the boy's suggestion.

"Surely I should at least be allowed to know your name?" the boy asked innocently. "Mine's Hojo!" he said, enthusiastically holding out a hand.

"Umm...Kagome," Kagome said, taking and shaking the boy's hand.

"And I'm Inuyasha," Inuyasha cut in abruptly. "Was there something you wanted, Hobo?"

"Hojo," the boy corrected, jovial as ever. "And I was just hoping I could meet some new people and make some new friends!"

"Okay, he loses points for tackiness, but he's doing well..." Miroku continued muttering.

Inuyasha gave him a glare that told him his commentary was direly unappreciated before turning back to Hojo. "Listen, Homo, we were all quite happy BEFORE you came and I'm sure you can see we already have enough friends..."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped. "Stop being such a jerk to poor Hojo!"

"Keh!"

"Don't you 'keh' me!" Kagome said, her temper rising. "You had no right to say that!"

Hojo looked back and forth between the two, his oblivious smile ever-present.

"Keh! Maybe I should just go sit with my fan girls over there and let you be!" Inuyasha shot back, crossing his arms.

"What are you talking about, you arrogant jerk?!" Kagome near-screeched as she stood up and glared down at Inuyasha. "How do they have anything to do with this?!"

"Inuyasha's got himself in a tight spot," Miroku's commentary continued. "His tack isn't nearly as smooth as Hojo's obliviousness allows him to be...it's going to be interesting to see Inuyasha get himself out of this mess without getting his head bitten off in the process..."

"At least I'd be more APPRECIATED over there!" Inuyasha yelled back as he leapt up from his own seat and glared back at her over Hojo's head.

Suddenly, Hojo popped up between. "Who would like to ski?" He suggested cheerfully, clapping his hands together.

"I'D LOVE TO!" Kagome yelled to the whole lodge. Even Inuyasha had to flinch. "It's getting stuffy in here anyway with SOMEBODY'S suffocating presence!" she said, glaring at Inuyasha.

With that, she stomped out of the lodge, dragging Hojo after her.

Silence ensued.

"It seems Inuyasha has indeed failed at his mission and the fair lady has now escaped...it's going to take some VERY skillful work to get back in the love of his life's good graces..."

"SHUT UP, MIROKU!!!"

A/N It's done! Yay, a new chapter! And I'm sorry for leaving it there after being away for so long, but now it's set up perfectly for the one thing Inuyasha hates most! Apologizing! How will our ill-fated hero get through this new obstacle?

Alright, I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible; hopefully before Tuesday. I'll have to stay over night after the surgery so if I can't get it out before then, I might be slightly delayed, but not much! I'm back in my writing groove and rearing to go! I'm so happy to be back! Not even surgery can drag me down! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to hear our thoughts! Just don't be mad at me for ending it like this, because I promise the next chapter will be really cute! Talk to ya later!


	23. The Apocalypse

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. But I now own a new AC ligament!

A/N Okey, dokey...I'm alive! Thanks for all of your support, guys, it made me feel a whole lot better! I made it through the dreaded surgery and now I can look forward to a loooong recovery... It wasn't too bad, I guess...the worst part was getting the IV thingy into my hand...that hurt...but I won't gross you all out with the lovely details. I shall instead write a lovely chapter while I remain somewhat immobile and overall restricted from normal movement. After all, what else do I have to do?

Thank you, its easy as abc, for being my 500th reviewer!!! Wow...I'm halfway to a thousand...that just boggles my mind. Thank you guys; I love you all!

Let's see...if you are once again offended by my portrayal of the snowboarders, let me direct you to my author's note of chapter 7. I believe I already explained myself on this subject, so please don't take offence. I'm not talking about ALL snowboarders here, just these particular ones. After all, they're made up of all the minor bad guys (excluding Nazuna) of Inuyasha, so what do you expect?

And I have seen like ten thousand different spellings of each name in Inuyasha, so I just picked one for Hojo and I'm going with it. It might be spelt Houjou, but I personally like the look of Hojo better and I've already used it for one chapter, so that's how I'm gonna use it for the rest of the fic. Okey dokey?

And, for the disclaimer from last chapter (if you didn't understand it and were wondering what it meant) a fairly accurate translation would be, "I don't own Inuyasha. I'm not his owner. And if you can understand this, congratulations."

Oh, and I forgot to mention in my last A/N that I finally got my MSN Messenger reinstalled! So now you can either talk to me on Yahoo! Messenger with my email being superceechyahoo.ca, on AIM with my screen name being Super Ceech, or on MSN Messenger with my email being satanika66hotmail.com. Come chat with me! I love talking to you guys!

..:/:..

"And then, when we analyzed the molecular structure, we realized it was a trans-isomer, not a cis-isomer!" Hojo finished his story proudly.

"You don't say..." Kagome supplied in a monotone voice. Her chin was resting in her palm as she gazed out over the ski hill with glazed over eyes, only half-listening to Hojo's endless stories as they ascended the mountain in a chairlift.

"But I do! And I can tell you, it was a great shock to all of us!"

"I'll bet it was..." Kagome replied, eyes half-shut. Why, oh, WHY did she leave her friends in order to spend the rest of the day with the most energetic yet most boring boy on earth?! What EVER possessed her to-oh, right. INUYASHA. Stupid jerk, being so rude and mean to poor-boring-Hojo who was just trying to be friendly...in a slightly frightening manner...but that wasn't the point! The point WAS was that Inuyasha had no right to say those things, and she wasn't about to forgive him for them any time soon!

"Don't you agree?" Hojo's voice broke through her thoughts and she slightly panicked, realizing she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Um...how could I not?" Kagome responded with a nervous giggle.

"Exactly. Pig's liver is SO delicious with basil," Hojo chattered happily.

Kagome gagged. "P-pig's liver?! With basil...?"

"I know! Ah, we're so much alike, Kagome, it's unbelievable!" Hojo smiled at her brightly.

"Unbelievable is right..." Kagome muttered under her breath.

..:/:..

"Oh, stop sulking and do something about it!" Sango shouted exasperated. Inuyasha ignored her and continued to brood, arms crossed and eyes glaring at the table before him.

"Inuyasha, we know you feel bad about-"

"Keh!" Inuyasha spat, cutting Miroku off. "I don't feel bad about anything!"

"Could've fooled me..." Ayame muttered. Inuyasha growled in response.

"Inuyasha, we understand you were jealous-" Sango started.

"Jealous?! Ha! I was NOT jealous!" Inuyasha protested angrily.

"My apologies... I forgot you were naturally that much of an ass," Sango shot back at him.

Inuyasha abruptly stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "That's it! I don't need this! I'm takin' off!" With that, he stormed out of the lodge, slamming the door behind him.

The others stood, watching him go while shaking their heads. "He's hopeless," Kouga confirmed what everyone was thinking.

"Stupid...stupids!" Inuyasha sputtered, not able to think up a better insult for his friends. "Who needs their advice anyways?! They don't know anything! Jealous?! As if!

"Still...Kagome's all mad at me now...but it wasn't my fault! That stupid Hojo freak was hitting on her and I was only protecting her from him! 'I just want to meet new people and make new friends' my ass...

"Why'd she get so mad anyway? He deserved it...and he probably didn't even realize I was insulting him! Stupid oblivious... And she liked it! She giggled and simpered at his stupid comments! What was with her, anyways?"

Inuyasha flopped down on the chairlift he was boarding and glared gloomily at the hill below him. "Now she probably won't talk to me...'cause I yelled at her...and if I hang out with my other friends, they'll just tell me that I was jealous and that I should apologize... Who needs their advice anyways?!" he repeated angrily. "They don't know anything...I mean, she can't ignore me forever...or can she? Ack, stupid girl...I don't know what I should do!"

An old Chinese man turned around on the chairlift in front of him. "Will you shut up already? Just go and apologize, stupid!"

Inuyasha gave the man a dead panned look. "Thanks, old man," he said dryly.

'Maybe I should...' Inuyasha thought. 'I mean, then she wouldn't be mad anymore, right? But I suck at apologizing...'

A few minutes later, his chairlift reached the top of the mountain and disembarked. "Now where to...?" he muttered to himself.

He started forward but stopped suddenly. He saw in front of him Kagome sitting alone on a bench, looking thoroughly dejected. He felt a pang of guilt and decided to go talk to her, whether he would come out of the encounter alive or not.

..:/:..

"Oh, look! We're here! Let's do some more skiing!" Hojo said excitedly.

Kagome groaned. Not more "skiing." She wasn't sure if she could take much more of his attempts at skiing before she screamed out of pure frustration. However, she plastered a large, fake smile and said cheerfully to Hojo, "Great! What hill should we go on next?"

Hojo grinned back at her. "How about that one?" he suggested, pointing at green circle.

"How did I know?" Kagome muttered to herself.

Hojo started awkwardly down the hill, almost snow plowing the entire time. Almost immediately, he caught an edge that imbalanced him and threw him to the ground. Kagome sighed and skied down to stop beside him. Hojo pushed himself up, laughing all the time. "Ah, what a fall, eh Kagome?" Hojo said jovially. "That's what skiing is all about! Learning from your falls and improving your skills because of them!"

Kagome looked at him skeptically. 'Funny,' she thought. 'I could have sworn that skiing was about avoiding the falls...' Kagome looked down at her companion. 'And is this guy for real? We're on a bunny hill! One of the easiest hills on this mountain! I can't believe I somehow got myself into this situation...'

"Are you having as much fun as I am?" Hojo asked, standing up and brushing the snow off of him.

"Uh...sure am!" Kagome said with fake enthusiasm. "But...I just realized something I forgot! And...uh...I have to go before it's too late!"

"Oh! I'll come with you!" Hojo suggested.

"No!" Kagome said, panicked. "I mean, no...uh, I'm meeting someone and we're, um, going...somewhere..."

Hojo looked crestfallen. "Oh...a boyfriend?"

Kagome laughed. "No, no, just a friend...that is a girl...we're, um, going shopping."

"Oh, okay!" Hojo had regained his cheerfulness. "Well, maybe we could ski together again another day then!"

"Oh...um...maybe we could..." Kagome said reluctantly. "But, I gotta go right now! See ya!"

Kagome sped off down the hill before Hojo could get in another word. Making sure she was out of his sight, she took a chairlift back up to the top of the mountain. Looking around at the other happy skiers at the top, Kagome sighed. She spotted an empty bench off to the side and skated over to it. She flopped down and pushed her goggles up onto the top of her head. She stuck her poles into the snow next to her and looked down at her skis.

She felt so alone now...and lost. She knew her way around the mountain by now, but without her friends, it seemed so much larger and not as fun as it was with them. The mountain seemed ominous and crowded by unknown strangers. She felt alone, but she thought it was better than hanging out with Hojo any longer. She had only stomped off with him in the first place because she was angry with Inuyasha. Stupid Inuyasha...why was he so mean? Why did he practically bite Hojo's head off? He didn't do anything but be really nice...

Oh, she refused to think about it anymore! But...if she didn't think about that, she was forced to think about how alone she was again...oh, the joys of walking out on your friends for an airheaded, pretty-boy...

She was aware of someone plopping down on the bench beside her. "This seat taken?" a rough, familiar voice inquired.

Kagome's head shot up and looked in surprise at Inuyasha himself. He wasn't looking at her; rather at his own skis, and he seemed to be avoiding her eyes. Kagome collected her wits quickly and looked away. "I suppose it is now," she said coldly. "Though I'm not at all sure I'm happy with who it's occupied by."

She saw out of the corner of her eye Inuyasha was struggling with himself. He seemed to want to say something, but was having great difficulty in spitting it out.

"Kagome, I-" Inuyasha broke off in order to look at a far off tree.

"Yes?" Kagome prompted in a detached fashion.

"What I mean to say is-" Inuyasha tried again.

Kagome was getting annoyed. "What is it, Inuyasha?"

Being confronted so sharply, Inuyasha's walls slammed up and the struggle that Kagome had witnessed happening on his face disappeared. He said somewhat nastily, "Did you have fun with your new boyfriend?"

Kagome was taken aback. Her eyes narrowed and she spoke in a frosty tone. "Who decided he was my boyfriend? And who ever said it was your business even if he was?"

Inuyasha sprang up with an unreadable expression on his face. "Ha! So you admit it's true?"

Kagome shot up from her seat also to confront him. "Where did you get that wild idea?! I haven't even known him for half a day and you think I'm going out with him?! Are you insane?! And what do you take me for, anyway?! Some chick that chases after every guy she sees?! I can't believe you, Inuyasha!" Having used all her breath, Kagome stood there panting and glaring at the boy to whom her dialogue was directed.

Inuyasha looked surprised for a moment before regaining his former disposition. "Well, you sure seemed to be enjoying his attentions this morning! He was all over you and you didn't seem to be objecting!"

Kagome balled her hands into fists. "He was not 'all over me'! And I was just being polite! Excuse me for having manners, you jerk! It's obvious you don't recognize what they are, having none yourself!"

"Hmph! I have plenty of manners!" Inuyasha said, crossing his arms.

"Oh, yeah?! I suppose you thought yourself polite when you made fun of Hojo's name and rudely suggested he take a hike?! And then you went and shouted at me just because I exhibited some kindness?! And now! Now you accuse me of dating him; a boy with the awareness of a rock and such a manner that I could never like him that way!" Kagome shouted.

Some steam seemed to go out of Inuyasha. "You-you mean you don't actually like Hojo?" he asked uncertainly.

Kagome sighed in exasperation. "What do you think I've been trying to tell you all this time? You've been wrongly accusing me and I don't appreciate it a bit!"

"And you never will like him that way no matter how nice he is?" Inuyasha asked anxiously.

"Exactly!" Kagome declared emphatically before sitting abruptly back down on the bench.

"Oh..." was all Inuyasha said as he sunk back down on the bench himself.

A few moments of silence ensued before Kagome rose from her seat. "Well...if you have nothing more to say to me, I'll be on my way."

She grabbed her streamer-wrapped poles and was just starting to skate away when Inuyasha's voice came to her, low and quiet.

"I'm sorry..."

Kagome stopped in her tracks and spun around to look at Inuyasha who had once again averted his eyes elsewhere.

"W-what did you say?" Kagome asked uncertainly. Inuyasha didn't answer. Kagome skated back to the bench, shoved her poles back in the snowbank and turned back to him. Cupping his cheek with her hand, she forced his head to turn to her and his eyes to look into hers. "What did you say?" she repeated.

"I'm...I'm sorry...for what I said earlier..." Inuyasha said slowly, as if contemplating if it were wise to reveal this truth.

Kagome looked at him in astonishment. His golden eyes held such emotion and strong sense of regret, she could have no doubt of the sincerity of his words. Suddenly, faced with this strong honesty and sincere remorse, her anger faded completely. She sat suddenly back on the bench with a 'thud' and stared straight in front of her, not speaking a word in her complete surprise.

Inuyasha took her silence as rejection of his apology and attempted to appease her. "Look, come on. I was just being stupid and the words flew out of my mouth. I-I didn't mean them... Will you say something already?!"

Kagome sighed as if coming to a decision. Then she turned and regarded Inuyasha a moment before gracing him with a gentle smile. "I forgive you," she said softly.

An expression of extreme relief swept over Inuyasha's face and he slumped on the bench as if a terrible weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"But you better not do anything that nasty ever again," Kagome warned. "I just might choose not to forgive you next time."

Inuyasha gave her a wry grin before seeming to remember something. "Oh, hey, Kagome? Um, can I ask you something?"

"Sure; go ahead."

"Okay...well, um...hmm, how to put it...let's see..."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Just spit it out."

"Easy for you to say..." Inuyasha mumbled before relapsing into a contemplative silence. After a few moments, he turned back to her and she noticed a faint red coloured his cheeks. "Well, you see...the ski tournament is coming up...on Wednesday...and, well...they always have these banquet things...to open the tournament and then to close it and hand out awards..."

Kagome scarcely dared to hope he was going to ask her something she really wished he did.

"So you see...all of the racers are encouraged to bring...um...d-dates...and I thought that maybe...well, you know..." Inuyasha trailed off awkwardly, his blush increasing tenfold.

Kagome feigned an oblivious expression. "No, I don't believe I do...what should I know?"

Inuyasha started fidgeting with his hands and started pulling at the fingers of his gloves. "Damn it...I'm no good at this sort of thing...uh...Kagome? Would you...would you like to, um...go to the banquets with me...? I mean...whatever if you don't want to; I don't care. I just thought I'd ask 'cause it's boring as hell at them and I only wanted some company-"

"I'd love to go with you, Inuyasha," Kagome cut into his ranting with a serene smile.

Inuyasha looked up at her sharply. "You-you would?" His expression was one of disbelief.

Kagome nodded happily. "Yes. I would. If only to keep you company," she added dryly.

Inuyasha flushed. "I-"

Kagome laughed. "It's okay, Inuyasha; I understand." She wrapped her arms around a startled Inuyasha's neck and pressed her cheek tightly to his. Into his ear, she whispered softly, "Thanks for apologizing. And for inviting me to the banquets. It means a lot to me."

Embarrassed, Inuyasha muttered, "Yeah, well, whatever. But you better not tell any of the others about this!"

Kagome giggled and hugged him tighter. "I promise not to tell them. Your secret is safe with me."

Relieved, Inuyasha cast a furtive glance around at the other oblivious skiers on the mountain before hesitantly wrapping his own arms around her lower waist.

..:/:..

"Inuyasha's tact has much improved since earlier this morning," Miroku continued his earlier commentary. "After some heated argument, he seems to have figured out the inner workings of the female mind and moved in for the steal!"

"Move your fat head, Miroku!" Sango whispered. "I want to see what's happening too, ya know!"

She shoved the boy out of the way and looked through the hole in the bushes to see what Inuyasha and Kagome were up to. After a moment, she squealed excitedly.

"What?! What?!" the three other friends whispered furiously.

"Inuyasha just asked her to some banquets and she accepted!" Sango said.

"Awww," Ayame said. "Wait...what banquets? When are those?"

Sango and Ayame turned to regard their male friends.

Kouga coughed nervously. "Uh...the first one's on Tuesday night to open the tournament and welcome all the racers. The second one's on Thursday night to close the tournament and hand out awards."

"I see..." Ayame said.

"So, um...Ayame? How about going with me?" Kouga asked the redheaded girl beside him. Then he added hastily, "'Cause, you know, we need to keep up our image and all of the dating couple."

Ayame smiled brightly. "Sure! It'll be so much fun!" she said, ignoring the last part of his dialogue.

Miroku turned to Sango. "Sango, how would you like to accompany me out to dinner Tuesday night?"

Sango looked confused. "Dinner? What about the banquet?"

"I am not a racer and therefore can sadly not attend the banquet," Miroku said tragically. Then he straightened and shrugged. "I mean, I usually sneak in anyways, but I would very much like spending the evening with you instead this time."

Sango looked at him warily for a moment before shrugging. "Sounds nice. Okay, I'll go."

"Excellent. You won't regret it," Miroku promised.

"I hope not," Sango muttered before turning back to spying on Kagome and Inuyasha. A split second later, she cooed, "That's so sweet. They're hugging!"

"What!?" Miroku and Kouga cried, shocked.

"Inuyasha's hugging a girl?!" Miroku asked in disbelief.

"The apocalypse has come!" Kouga exclaimed.

"Oh, shut up, you two," Ayame said. "It can't be that miraculous, can it?"

Miroku and Kouga just looked at her.

"What?!" Ayame snapped irritably. "Why is it so amazing Inuyasha's hugging a girl?"

"Inuyasha's...not exactly...what you'd call a ladies' man," Kouga said.

"I think he has a phobia or something of forming something more than friendships with girls..." Miroku piped up thoughtfully. "I mean, you see how embarrassed he gets whenever he happens to make affectionate physical contact in any way with Kagome."

"You're right!" Sango exclaimed. "He's blushing like mad right now!"

"Hey, you've been looking long enough!" Ayame said. "It's my turn!"

Grumbling, Sango moved out of the way in order to let Ayame view the couple. She saw that Inuyasha and Kagome were currently standing up and preparing to go ski together. They were retrieving their poles and replacing their goggles over their eyes. Suddenly, Kagome looked almost straight at their hiding place and froze. Nudging Inuyasha, she pointed over at it. "What's that sparkling thing?" she asked him.

Inuyasha looked over as well and squinted a bit. "Looks kind of purple too..."

Ayame panicked. "Uh oh, guys. I think they've spotted us!"

"What's purple and sparkly and hides in the bushes?" Kagome asked as if it were a joke question.

Inuyasha's thoughtful gaze turned into a glare almost immediately. "Miroku in his sparkly purple boa! And I'll bet the others are with him! They've been spying on us!"

"Eep!" Ayame cried to the rest of the spying party. "We've been found out! Make a break for it!"

The others scrambled up and as quick as they could, untangled themselves from the brush. They burst out of the bushes and made a beeline for the nearest hill.

"Oh, no you don't!" Inuyasha cried. "Get back here, you spying rodents!"

"Spying rodents?" Kagome muttered to herself. "We have GOT to work on Inuyasha's vocabulary..."

..:/:..

A/N Another lovely chapter completed. Not quite as much humour, but more fluff this time. Was it good? I was trying so hard to keep in character with Inuyasha, but it's difficult because when he shows his soft side, he's really soft and sensitive...but I didn't want to make him too soft...oh, well; I think it turned out alright. What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments and I'll talk to ya next chapter! (Or via instant messenger)


	24. Funeral Plans

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the perpetually annoying reporters and the rabid fan girls...think I could make a world famous series with them? No? Oh...bummer...

A/N Hi ho, readers! Wow, I really loved all your reviews from last chapter; they were all so nice and inspiring and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I'm really glad you all found Inuyasha in character and enjoyed the fluff and humour. I tried really hard and I'm glad it paid off! So without further ado, here's the next chapter for you! (And they won't let me use my little symbol thingies anymore so I had to change them! Why would do that to me? Why?! -cries pathetically-)

..:V:..

"When I catch up with you, you're SO DEAD!!!" Inuyasha yelled after his fleeing friends.

"Kouga, wait for me!" Ayame cried after the boy who was quickly gaining speed and leaving her behind.

Kouga glanced briefly back at her before saying, "When we go down this next hill, don't worry about technique; just bomb it!"

When the two of them reached the indicated hill, they both tucked like mad and skied straight down the hill without a thought of turning. They picked up enormous speed and Ayame almost started praying that her skis wouldn't catch any edges lest she fall hard and injury something rather severely.

Finally they reached the bottom and ended up snowing multiple people in the chairlift line while trying to stop themselves. The assaulted individuals glared at the offensive pair as they brushed themselves off indignantly.

Kouga and Ayame mumbled a few apologies before anxiously looking back up at the hill they had just skied down. When there was no sign of their enraged friend, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Guess he went after Sango and Miroku..." Kouga mused.

"Where'd they go, anyway?" Ayame asked. "I thought they were running away with us..."

"Yeah, but they split off and went down a different hill," Kouga explained. "So it's just you and me again...seems familiar, doesn't it?"

Ayame grinned. "Yeah...brings back memories...like when we freaked that old couple out on the chairlift..."

Kouga nodded his head, reminiscing. "Good times, good times... Well, then, I'm kind of cold. How about we go into the lodge and grab some hot chocolates? It's all on me!"

"How generous of you," Ayame joked. "You'd spend all of one dollar on me? That's just so sweet!"

Kouga bowed. "Well, what can I say? I've got a giving heart."

"Yeah, yeah," Ayame laughed. "Let's just go. I think I could really use that hot chocolate as well."

The two companions proceeded to skate for the nearby lodge. After laying their skis and poles against the rack and trudging into the lodge, Kouga went off to the counter while Ayame claimed an empty table for them. When he came back he set one steaming cup in front of her while taking the other for himself.

They sat there, idly chatting, and waiting until their drinks were cool enough to consume without burning their tongues. Once the hot chocolate had cooled a sufficient amount, they began periodically sipping at it while discussing various subjects, such as the upcoming competition, the banquet and the conditions of the hill that day.

As they were just finishing up, a woman with thick, bushy, brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses came up to them. "Excuse me, but I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions for 'Celebrities Today'?"

Kouga's fist immediately clenched, but Ayame quickly covered it with her own to offer him comfort in order to prevent him from saying something overly rude.

Without their consent, the reporter began bombarding Kouga with random, personal questions that he flatly refused to answer. After almost a full ten minutes of unsuccessful questioning on her part, the nosy reporter then rounded on Ayame.

"So, my dear; how old are you?" she asked, peering at Ayame over her glasses. Ayame couldn't help but be a little intimidated at the force of her presence.

"Um...sixteen."

"I see, I see..." the woman mumbled, scribbling in her notebook. "And how long have you and Kouga been seeing each other?"

"About, uh...a couple weeks?" Ayame said, realizing she and Kouga had no story for the tabloids about their relationship.

"And where and how did you meet, dear?"

"Uhhhhhh......at a...a...beauty salon!" Ayame sputtered out the first thing she could think off. Kouga gaped at her as she continued. "Um, yeah! I was there to get my hair done and he was there to get a pedicure, and we met while waiting for our respective appointments!"

Kouga buried his face in his hands. "Oh, god, I'm ruined! And I didn't even do it!"

But the reporter wasn't paying any attention to him. "And why did you need to be at a beauty salon, honey? Do you feel insecure about yourself?"

"Uhhh...no," Ayame said, giving the woman a funny look.

"Mmhmm..." the reporter nodded knowingly. "It's alright, dear, you can tell me."

"Tell you what?" Ayame asked, confused. "That I'm anorexic or something crazy like that?"

"You're anorexic, honey? Oh, how horrible!" Meanwhile, the woman was scribbling furiously in her little notebook.

"Hey, wait a min-"

"And are you having any troubles with drugs or alcohol? Don't worry, sweetie, you can tell me," the reporter coaxed.

Ayame gaped at her in shock and horror. She'd never been more insulted in her life! She started when Kouga stood up abruptly.

"Excuse me, but by what right do you think you have to ask her those types of questions and assume such terrible things about her?!" he snarled. "She's one of the sweetest girls I know and she would NEVER stoop so low as to do what you're implying! I can't believe your job is to debase and humiliate others by making up wild accusations that couldn't be farther from the truth! I can't believe you even willingly participate in a job such as that! I think I can safely say you're one of the lowest scum on this earth!"

The woman looked taken aback and could merely stare at him. The rest of the lodge was completely silent as everyone stared at the scene.

"Come on, Ayame, we're getting out of here," Kouga growled.

"Uh...sure..." Ayame said, just as surprised as the rest. She stood up and allowed him to take her arm as he led her out of the lodge.

As soon as they had exited the building, Kouga started ranting. "Why I ought to pound her face in! How could that nosy, presumptuous, conniving little bi-"

"Kouga!" Ayame cut into his raving.

"What?!" he snapped. "How could she ask those questions and presume-"

"Kouga!" Ayame tried again. "Calm down. It's alright, really."

Kouga turned on her and she noticed something indiscernible in his eyes. "Didn't you hear what she said about you?!" he cried almost desperately. "Didn't you hear her say those awful lies?! Weren't you insulted?!"

Ayame smiled gently at him. "Yes. Yes, I was very deeply offended. And then you stood up and defended me. And now none of what she said matters to me because the sweetness of what you did made it all go away." With that, she leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "And now; let's continue skiing!" she said as she walked back to where they had left their skis and poles.

"Oh..." Kouga uttered, dumbfounded, as he pressed his fingers to the spot on his cheek where her lips had been. "Oookay..."

..:V:..

"Ski for your life!" Miroku shouted to Sango as he noticed the enraged Inuyasha was gaining on them.

"Stop running away, you cowards!" Inuyasha shouted after them.

"At least his vocabulary's minutely improving," Miroku muttered. Then he yelled, "I wouldn't stop now for a free grope!"

"As reassuring as that is, he's catching up!" Sango said.

Miroku glanced back and saw that Inuyasha's ski tips were practically touching the backs of his own. As they approached the hill they were about to go down, Miroku waited until the last second before reaching out and grabbing Sango's wrist and yelling, "Turn!"

Sango caught on to his meaning immediately and they sharply swerved away from the hill. Inuyasha, however, did not expect this and continued on skiing down the hill. He stopped when he was able, but it was too far to be able to climb back up to the top and catch his friends.

Miroku threw him a taunting wave as he and Sango went off in search of a different run. "See you later, Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, and when you do, you'll regret the day you were ever born!" Inuyasha yelled after him.

He only heard Miroku's careless last comment, "It wasn't even that embarrassing..."

Inuyasha fumed for a few moments before Kagome popped her head over the edge of the hill. "Finally!" she gasped between breaths. "It's hard to keep up with you, you know!"

"Yeah, well I wouldn't be a racer if I weren't fast," Inuyasha snapped, still in a bad mood.

Kagome grinned and came down to stop beside him. "Well, who cares about them, anyway?" she said, guessing at the cause of his grumpiness. "Let's just ski together for the rest of the day and then tonight...when they come back to the condos..." she said with an odd gleam in her eye as she rubbed her hands together evilly.

Inuyasha grinned maliciously. "Yes...tonight...they won't see it coming..."

"Excellent..."

..:V:..

"Whew, glad we got rid of them!" Sango said in relief. "Nice quick thinking, Miroku."

"What can I say? I've always had a knack for it," Miroku said, buffing his gloved fingers on his coat. "After all," he added dryly. "How can I not after knowing Inuyasha for about twelve years? Quick thinking is like your survival instinct..."

Sango laughed. "I can believe it."

"Well, now," Miroku said, seeming to regain his cheerful self. "What should we do next?"

Sango thought for a minute before exclaiming, "Oh! I was wondering if we could practice that last jump you taught me 'cause I don't think I've been doing it just right. I always end up wiping out on the landing."

"No problemo!" Miroku said. "I think we're close to a jump hill here. Let's go see what you're doing wrong!"

The pair skied over to the closest jump hill they could find and Miroku skied down so he was just below the first jump. Then Sango descended and went over the jump, performing the manoeuver Miroku had taught her. She performed it well, but when she landed, her skis flew out from underneath her and she experienced a spectacular wipeout.

Lying on her back, Sango groaned and refused to budge. Miroku's concerned face soon appeared and hovered above her own. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Sango groaned again. "Just fine. I just don't want to get up...too much effort."

Miroku chuckled and held out a hand. "Here, I'll help you. Otherwise you'll become hill-kill for the next jumpers."

Sango smiled at his pun before grabbing his hand and letting him help her up. "So, teacher. What'd I do wrong?" she asked as she brushed some snow off her jacket.

"Well, come over to the side of the hill and I'll show you," Miroku said. "Otherwise, we're just asking for someone to run us over."

Sango complied and once they were out of the way, Miroku popped out of his skis and came over to her. "Now, look. Your weight was completely on the backs of your skis when you landed; like this," Miroku said as he placed his hands on either side of her waist and pulled the centre of her body backwards. Sango stiffened at first in his grasp, but as it appeared he wasn't going to attempt anything, she relaxed. Miroku continued, ignoring her momentary reaction, "Since you were so far back, you were completely imbalanced when you landed; the fronts of your skis wanted to keep going forward, but they left you behind. They shot out from underneath you since they had immense force and speed, but no evenly distributed weight to keep them on the ground. Does that make sense?"

"I think so..." Sango said thoughtfully.

"Think of it like this," Miroku said. "If you're on one end of a teeter-toter, that end is completely driven into the ground while the other end is completely in the air. That's how you were. But if you stood in the middle of the teeter-toter, you could balance your weight out over both sides and make them hover at equal angles to each other.

"When you're landing from a jump, it's harder because you're landing on a slope and to you, leaning backwards feels like you're upright. But instead, you must lean forwards so that you're upright in relation to your skis," Miroku finished. "So you're more like this." He pushed the centre of her body forward with his hands still on her waist, so that the fronts of her shins were touching the insides of her ski boots.

"I think I get it now," Sango said, turning her head towards him and smiling at him. Her eyes locked with his and she stood frozen. For a moment, all she was aware of was the violet depths to his eyes and the comforting (and behaving) hands around her waist. For a moment, time stood still and there was nothing but him and her, and the comforting closeness they shared.

For a moment.

A jumper suddenly came over the jump they had recently abandoned. Like Sango, upon his landing, he completely wiped out and the spray of snow from his accident showered Miroku and Sango where they stood and broke their perfect moment.

They separated in order to brush the snow off of them and they watched as the fallen skier picked himself up and skied down the rest of the hill, avoiding the jumps.

"So," Miroku began awkwardly.

"So," Sango agreed.

"More jumping?"

"Let's get to it!" Sango said enthusiastically, shoving the previous incident to the back of her mind where she could contemplate it further later. With a shove, she pushed herself down the hill and towards the next awaiting jump.

..:V:..

"Come on, Kagome; spill," Ayame pressed her friend once the three girls were alone together in their condo later that night.

"Uhn, uhn," Kagome declared, shaking her head. "I refuse to say anything."

"You like him, don't you?" Sango suggested.

"I have the faintest idea of whom you're talking about," Kagome said in feigned confusion.

"Don't play dumb with us," Sango said. "We know you like Inuyasha; don't even try to deny it. After that public display today, how could you?"

Kagome crossed her arms and huffed indignantly. "We were just hugging! Jeez, you make it seem as if it were more than it was! We're just friends!"

"Really good friends," Ayame said, nudging Sango.

Kagome glared at them and spoke in a dangerous voice, "Well, at least I have ONE really good friend... It seems the others who I had thought to have been good friends were content to stoop so low as to spy on me and embarrass me in the process. It seems they have no respect for my privacy and thus decide to invade it while deceiving me outright."

Sango and Ayame shot each other a nervous glance before slowly edging away. "This is gonna get worse before it gets better..." Sango muttered.

"Come on, Kagome," Ayame pleaded. "Calm down. I mean, it's not like we'll tell anyone or anything..."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't hurt you painfully right now," Kagome said, walking towards them with a sadistic glint in her eye.

"Um...um...I'll tell you a secret!" Ayame practically shouted. "I...uh...Kouga defended me against a reporter today and then I kissed him on the cheek! Please don't hurt me!"

Kagome looked down at her with an amused smirk before rounding on Sango. "And what do you have to tell me...?"

Sango looked to Ayame for help, but only found that her other friend was looking at her just as expectantly as the evil one advancing on her. "Um...um..." she sputtered. "I...alright! I, um, kinda think that maybe I think that...uh...Miroku might be more than just a pervert to me!"

A slow smile spread across Kagome's features as she sunk back onto the couch. "Really...? Now that's an interesting bit of information...yes, that will do very well..."

"Uh...do well for what?" Sango squeaked.

Kagome glanced at her with a satisfied grin. "Well, if you ever try to spy on me again, I won't hesitate to tell Miroku what you just told me."

Sango gaped at her. "That's not fair! Y-you can't do that!"

Kagome continued grinning. "Says who? I think it's a fair trade."

"And what could you do to prevent me from spying?" Ayame asked coyly.

Kagome smirked. "All I have to do is tell Kouga that you've been madly in love with him since the night you first met him."

Ayame plunked herself down on the other couch. "You're evil, Kagome."

An evil chuckle arose from her friend. "Oh, I know."

..:V:..

"So have you made funeral plans?" Miroku asked Kouga.

"Not yet, but I'm thinking I might like to have a mahogany coffin," Kouga said. "They're really nice, although I think they're pretty expensive."

"I'm thinking I might ask for a cremation. That way all the bruises won't be on display at the visitation," Miroku interjected.

"That's true," Kouga said thoughtfully. "Who do you want to write your eulogy?"

"I'm not sure yet; I'm still debating on that one...maybe Sango..."

"Nah, better forget her," Kouga said. "She'll probably be participating in her own funeral after Kagome gets through with her. Which means Ayame probably also won't be alive to perform mine..."

The two boys let out depressed sighs.

"Think it'll be fun being dead?" Kouga asked Miroku.

"Who knows? I only hope he makes it quick; I don't really want to suffer," Miroku answered.

Suddenly they heard the condo door bang open and Inuyasha's sickeningly sweet voice call out, "Oh, Miroku! Kouga!"

"Do you think there's time to make a final confession?" Miroku asked Kouga hastily as they heard Inuyasha scrambling out of his ski gear.

"I don't think so! I'm sure the big guy will forgive you!" Kouga responded quickly.

Inuyasha walked into the entrance of the living room and saw his two friends sitting rigidly on one of the couches. Cracking his knuckles and chuckling malevolently, he taunted, "Oh, boys...there's hell to pay."

"Eep."

..:V:..

A/N Eek, what horrors will Inuyasha do to his evil spying "rodent" friends? Too bad Kouga and Miroku didn't get those funeral plans finalized...

Okay, I'm in the middle of writing the ski tutorial (yes, I haven't forgotten about it), but when I'm finished, I think I'll just set up a link to it in my bio because there are a ton of you who want it and I think it would be easier overall that way. I'm not positive as to when I'll get it up, but rest assured it'll be before the competition starts in the story!

And I've just started a new fic! It's called "In the Shadows" and I've just posted the first chapter of it with this chapter. It's kind of an eerie, creepy, thrill down your spine fic, but it's going to be really cool! I'm really excited about it so if you guys could check it out and give me your thoughts, I'd be eternally grateful!

So I'll talk to ya later and don't forget to tell me your thoughts on this chapter!


	25. The Chase Scene

Disclaimer: I have some very bad news. I'm not sure how I'm going to say this...just...try to remain calm...here goes... I-I don't own Inuyasha. Don't freak! It's okay! I know you're all surprised, but somehow we'll get through this, okay? Just...just hang on...we'll get you help...

A/N I'm baaack! Thanks to all of you who went to check out my new fic, In the Shadows!

Heh, heh, heh...thanks for the reminder, Calum...heh, heh, heh...

And Fiery Love, I'm not sure exactly by what method, but SOMEHOW we've got to get you past this Ayame thing... I mean, you're hating all of her actions and what she says and does based on which character she is. Heck, for all I know, she's completely OOC. I've never seen her in the show before, as I think I mentioned previously. Which means that in this fic, she's a completely different character. So don't imagine her as the Ayame you hate, but as the Ayame I've created. Hate the first one all you like, but PLEASE don't hate mine. -pout- I happen to like her...

Alrighty, citizens, Super Ceech saves the day once again with another chapter!

..:V:..

"And then he got the chair!" Kouga explained.

"If you hadn't have ducked!" Miroku moaned as Sango pressed a cold compress to a bruise on his face.

"Well, sooooorry for not wanting to get smacked in the face with a wooden chair!" Kouga protested as Ayame inspected him as he lay on the couch not being occupied by Miroku. "After all, I thought being half-strangled to death with YOUR nightie was punishment enough for me!"

"No, I was throttled with that stupid feather boa instead!" Miroku practically shouted.

"Did you see my precious hair?!" Kouga demanded. "Highlights! Yellow highlights!!!"

"It was only temporary," Inuyasha defended himself from the corner in which he was standing.

"How did you happen to have hair dye with you, anyway?" Kagome asked him as she stood next to him.

Inuyasha grinned maliciously. "I took a quick trip out to the store. I came prepared."

"Ah. Good thinking," said Kagome as they turned back to the scene before them.

"He shoved my head in the dirty vacuum cleaner bag!" Miroku yelled.

"Why do you guys have a vacuum cleaner in here?" Sango wondered. "Don't the cleaning ladies usually come, clean, and then leave WITH their cleaning supplies?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "She just happened to leave it behind, to my great advantage." He smirked evilly.

"Ah. That would explain it," Sango said, turning back to the arguing and injured boys.

"Your head wasn't held for fifteen minutes straight under freezing cold water!" Kouga was accusing Miroku.

"You weren't assaulted with the fire poker!" Miroku protested.

"Why do you guys get a fireplace, anyways?" Ayame pouted. "We don't have one..."

Ignoring Ayame, Kouga continued ranting, "Well, you weren't sat on for two hours, being made to watch the cooking channel! Oh, the horror...!"

Miroku was about to yell something back when he paused. "No...no...that's true...I wasn't...you've got a point there..."

"Wow, Inuyasha," Sango said, amazed. "You really let 'em have it."

Inuyasha shrugged. "That's what they get for spying on me."

"During a most intimate moment," Ayame said playfully.

Inuyasha gave her a death glare. "What did you say? Are you trying to get at something, Ayame?"

Ayame looked furtively around before pointing to herself. "Who me? Ha, ha, you must be joking! I didn't say ANYTHING nor did I try to get at something...you believe me, right? Please don't hurt me!"

Inuyasha smirked. "Being sadistic and evil has a lot of benefits, doesn't it, Kagome?"

Kagome nodded fervently. "Oh, yes... So much control..." She looked meaningfully at her two friends.

Sango and Ayame let out soft "eeps" before turning back to the injured boys on the couches.

"Well, Kagome," Inuyasha said, turning to her. "It doesn't look like these wimps are going to get up any time soon, so how about you and I hit the slopes?"

Kagome smiled at him. "Sure!" Turning back to the others, she called, "See ya later!" as she left with Inuyasha out the door.

"Whew, glad they're gone," Miroku said as he attempted to sit up. Sango immediately pushed him back down, a concerned expression on her face.

"Oh, no you don't," she said. "You're going to make sure that you're completely better before you get up."

"I assure you, Sango, I'm perfectly fine," Miroku said earnestly. "Inuyasha knows not to hit us TOO hard...otherwise he wouldn't have anyone to ski with for a week."

"Yeah," Kouga agreed as he sat up with Ayame's help. "And plus, the competition is fast approaching so he wouldn't endanger my chances in any way."

"I guess..." said Sango doubtfully.

A sly look crossed Ayame's features. "Well...maybe he hurt you just enough so you would be delayed skiing for the morning. I mean, come on...he can't be TOO concerned about wanting you as skiing partners...after all, it seems he's GOT a skiing partner..."

"Yeah..." Miroku said, adopting the same sly look. "Kagome. I think there's something going on between those two..."

Everyone nodded fervently in agreement.

"You know...they make a really cute couple..." Sango said, finally allowing Miroku to sit up with her help.

"It'd be a shame if they didn't hook up..." Kouga said.

"BIG shame..." Ayame continued, thinking furiously.

"Hmm..." the four friends said together, lost in thought.

..:V:..

"Wow, this is an awesome day for skiing!" Kagome exclaimed, breathing in the fresh air.

"Yeah...it really is," Inuyasha agreed. "Just perfect."

They were currently riding a chairlift and observing all of the people skiing below them.

"I think we got satisfactory revenge, don't you?" Kagome asked, grinning at the boy next to her.

"Yeah...it wasn't too bad," Inuyasha said thoughtfully. Then he grinned too. "Did you see the way Sango and Ayame were fawning over Miroku and Kouga.

"Yeah..." Kagome said dreamily. "Sango and Miroku, and Ayame and Kouga make such great couples..."

"It be a shame if they didn't hook up..." Inuyasha said suggestively.

"BIG shame..." Kagome said thoughtfully.

"Hmm..." the two said together, thinking of all the possibilities.

Once they got to the top of the chairlift, they disembarked and began looking for a good hill to ski down to warm themselves up. Looking around, Kagome spotted numerous skiers sporting hats almost identical to the one Inuyasha was wearing the previous day; toques with fluffy dog ears perched on the top.

Kagome giggled and pointed it out to Inuyasha. "Look! It looks as if you've set a fashion statement!"

Inuyasha looked over and rolled his eyes. "Dorks. They see me wearing an article of clothing ONCE and they immediately think they'll be cool if they get one too?! Yeesh..."

"Yeah, really," Kagome agreed. "It's just so..." she trailed off as she caught sight of a few individuals holding poles that had swirling candy cane-stripes plastered on to them. They looked identical to how her poles had been the day before with streamers wrapped around each one. Kagome gawked as Inuyasha chuckled.

"Looks like you're developing some fame yourself," he said as he nudged her.

Kagome glared playfully. "And it's all thanks to you, too...always getting me into trouble..."

"Hey!" Inuyasha protested. "I don't always get you into trouble; you get yourself into trouble! I mean, what about when you got that food poisoning and fell down that hill that was being groomed? I didn't have anything to do with that, and I even saved your hind!"

"Hmph...touché..." Kagome mumbled. "But you can't deny you have gotten me into trouble; I mean, what about those snowboarders?"

"Well, I-"

"Inuyasha!"

"Huh?" Kagome and Inuyasha turned to see Myouga skiing furiously towards them.

"Oh, crap," Inuyasha muttered.

"Inuyasha!" Myouga shouted angrily. "Where have you been, young man?! You have been avoiding me for a week now and I don't appreciate it! Do you want to win this competition or not?!"

"Yeah..." Inuyasha muttered.

"Then why haven't you been training with me?!" Myouga yelled. "Do you think you'll win by goofing off and never doing any real training?!"

"Umm...yes?" Inuyasha said.

Myouga glared at his charge. "Wrong! We're going to train for the rest of the intervening time until the competition and you will just have to leave your girlfriend here!"

"She's not my-!"

"COME, Inuyasha!" Myouga said, tugging on the racer's sleeve. "Aside from training, there's something we direly need to discuss!"

Inuyasha, his patience worn thin, glanced at Kagome briefly before shouting, "Ski!" With that, he took off and Kagome hastened to follow him. Myouga attempted to catch up, but, in the end, wasn't fast enough. Inuyasha and Kagome made good their retreat as they went screaming down a hill and out of sight of the enraged instructor.

"Whew! That was a close one!" Inuyasha said as they stopped halfway down the mountain to hop on a new chairlift.

"Uh, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked timidly. "Shouldn't you actually just go with Myouga and train? The competition IS coming up and we've distracted you all week... I feel really bad..."

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Inuyasha said casually. "I train every time I go down a hill and the on the few nights that we haven't spent with you guys, Kouga and I have been going night skiing to train. Myouga doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Oh...okay!" Kagome said, somewhat cheered by this bit of information. "Let's just...kinda avoid him then..."

"I agree," Inuyasha said as they skied forward with another skier to board the chairlift.

The skier boarding with them had their hood pulled securely over their head and nothing about their appearance was revealed. Partway through the chairlift ride, the mysterious skier spoke up.

"Hello, Inuyasha..."

Inuyasha, who was sitting on the other side of the chairlift, stiffened noticeably. Kagome, who was sitting between the two, looked back and forth between them before asking the stranger, "Um, excuse me? Who are you...exactly?"

The stranger, obviously a female by the tone of her voice, turned to Kagome. In an eerie voice, almost as if she were desperately trying to restrain herself, she said, "Hi. My name's Jodi."

"Umm...hello..." Kagome said, somewhat uncertainly. "Do you know Inuyasha or something...?"

"Know him?" the girl laughed in a voice that suggested she wasn't quite sane. "I'm going to bear his children!"

"Gah! Get away from me, you psycho chick!" Inuyasha burst out and scooted as far as he could to the other end of the chairlift.

The girl, Jodi, flung off her hood and Inuyasha and Kagome gasped. She was about the same age as Kagome, but her hair was bleached white and her eyes were a shimmering gold. Inuyasha gaped for a moment before exclaiming, "What the hell did you do to yourself?!"

Jodi looked at Inuyasha with a hungry glint in her eyes, as if she'd been separated from a vital source of survival for much too long. "Inuyasha honey! Isn't it great?! We were meant to be! I dyed my hair and got golden contacts so I could be just like you!!!"

"Uhhh..." Kagome said blankly. "That's creepy."

"Please stay away from me..." Inuyasha said in a small voice that indicated how much she was freaking him out.

"Inuyasha, take me; I'm yours!" Jodi proclaimed before launching at him. Unfortunately for Kagome, Jodi ended up sprawled across her lap, reaching her hands out towards you not?" Kagome asked, looking down at the seemingly mentally disturbed girl invading her personal air bubble.

"Inuyasha, darling; look, look!" Jodi exclaimed as she yanked off her two gloves and shoved her hands out towards him. From left to right, the name INUYASHA was painted across Jodi's fingernails, and two hearts resided on her thumbnails.

A small whimper emitted from Inuyasha's throat and Kagome could have sworn it sounded just like one a dog would make.

"Well...that's quite the artwork..." Kagome said, trying to pushing Jodi back to her original seating. "But you might want to gear down with it...kinda freaky..."

"I thought you were in jail..." Inuyasha said in a fearful voice.

Kagome looked at the girl speculatively for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Hey! Is she that stalker you were talking about before, Inuyasha? The one who was in jail because she disobeyed the restraining order?"

"It's okay, Inu-kins!" Jodi shouted happily. She tried to reach towards him, but Kagome pushed her back. "I stayed in that nasty place three months, but I would happily spend three years in it just for one stroke of your silky silver tresses!"

"Wow..." Kagome said uncomfortably. "You're quite the obsessive fangirl, aren't you?"

"Inuyasha, my love, your very face inflames my desire and quickens my heartbeat!" Jodi said whimsically.

"And apparently, a very bad poet..." Kagome continued.

"I had your face imprinted on every article of clothing I possess! Even my underwear!" Jodi said gleefully.

Inuyasha cringed and looked at her in horror. "Please tell me you did not just say that..."

"I suggest covering your ears, Inuyasha," Kagome advised him. "Or else you'll be traumatized for the rest of your life!"

"I already am..." Inuyasha mumbled.

"I have InuJodi=4ever tattooed on my butt!" Jodi exclaimed loudly. A few heads turned from other chairlifts.

Inuyasha whimpered and shrank back into his side of the chairlift.

"Eww!!!" Kagome said in disgust, pushing Jodi back as far as she could. "That's just disgusting!"

"We will be together forever, Inu-muffin!" Jodi continued on. "And I will bear your children, and they'll be called Jason, Mark, Inuyasha Jr., Jessica, Tiffany, Jodi Jr., Brian, Nanaimo, Gerta, Inujodi, Trevor, Heather, Yashi, Keith, Poppy, Inodi-"

"Oh, look!" Kagome broke in through Jodi's never-ending naming session. "It's time to get off!" She flung off the restraining bar and grabbed Inuyasha before almost leaping out of the chairlift and out of the unloading bay.

"W-wait! Come back, Inu-cupcake!" Jodi shouted after them. "I'm learning to ski just for yo-oomph!" Kagome looked briefly back in time to see Jodi trip over her own skis and fall to the ground.

"Now's our chance!" Kagome said to Inuyasha. "Let's get the heck out of here!"

"That was one of the scariest moments of my entire life..." Inuyasha whimpered, only half-concentrating on his skiing.

"Come on, Inuyasha; snap out of it!" Kagome said, turning her head in order to look at him. "Don't think about it! If you don't want it to happen again, I suggest you focus and get out of here with me!"

The thought of repeating that experience brought Inuyasha abruptly back to himself and he increased his speed tenfold in order to make it to the nearest hill. He and Kagome sped down the mountain with record speed and stopped near a nearby chairlift. As they were contemplating whether or not it was safe to ascend, a familiar figure approached them.

"Higurashi! Wanna ski with me again?"

"Oh...! Ho...jo... How nice to see you again..." Kagome said a bit forcefully. She could feel Inuyasha tense beside her.

"It's sure nice to see you again too, Higurashi!" Hojo said cheerfully. "So, do you want to hit the slopes together?"

"Um...well...naturally I would...but...um...you see..." Kagome trailed off helplessly.

"She's completely freezing and we're going into the lodge so I can buy her a hot chocolate," Inuyasha inserted, a hard edge to his voice.

"Yeah!" Kagome said quickly. "What he said! I'm freezing...brrr!" She quickly let out a few phoney shivers. "Love to, but gotta go!"

Kagome and Inuyasha dashed off for the lodge, but were disappointed when Hojo started trailing behind, obviously not given up hope. "I'll come with you!" he called.

Kagome rolled her eyes but removed her skis and poles and layed them against the rack with Inuyasha's. Together, they trooped into the ski lodge.

"Oh, my god, there he is!"

"He's sooo cool!"

"Go on, go up and say something to him!"

High-pitched giggles met Inuyasha and Kagome's ears almost as soon as they stepped into the lodge. They cringed and looked over towards the source. A group of girls were sitting around a table pointing and giggling at Inuyasha. The group included the girls who had been giggling over him the day before and wanting to get hats to match his. And sure enough, every single girl at the table had a hat identical to the one he had been wearing the previous day.

"This is a nightmare!" Inuyasha muttered.

As one, the gossiping girls stood up from their table and began advancing towards the pair by the doors.

"You know...?" Kagome said in a low voice to Inuyasha. "Suddenly that hot chocolate doesn't seem like so much of a big deal..."

"I agree," Inuyasha said hastily. "Suddenly I have an urge for fresh air and...breathing room!" he shouted as they turned tail and fled from the oncoming fangirls.

"Come baack, Inuyasha! I want to go on a date with you!" a random fangirl shouted as they all took chase.

Kagome and Inuyasha burst out of the lodge doors and flew past a befuddled Hojo who had just been about to enter.

"Higurashi, I-"

"No time now, Hojo! Gotta go!" Kagome shouted as she and Inuyasha grabbed their skis from the rack and practically jumped into them. They grabbed their poles and headed for the nearest chairlift, but quickly stopped dead in their tracks.

"There are two of those stupid punks! Get them!"

"Eek!" Kagome screeched as all of the snowboarders they'd aggravated before came out of the chairlift line and started towards them.

"Shouldn't you guys be off lighting up somewhere?" Inuyasha asked disdainfully.

"Why you...! Get that twerp!" the leader with the long, dark braid yelled.

"Inuyasha, this is a demonstration of what I was talking about earlier!" Kagome said, clutching his arm. "You know? About how you keep getting me into trouble?!"

"Yeah, well...they would've come after us anyway!" Inuyasha protested.

"No time to bicker!" Kagome said. "They're coming at us from both sides! Where can we go to escape?!"

Inuyasha looked hastily from the approaching fangirls blocking the lodge to the charging snowboarders barring the path to the chairlift. "Uhhh...the condo! It's our only hope!"

"Right!" Kagome agreed and they shot off for their destination with everyone else following behind.

As they neared it, however, they saw a small crowd gathered and heard a lot of shouting. When they reached the crowd, they stopped as fast as they could and desperately tried to escape without notice. This, however, was not meant to be.

"Inuyasha! Where do you get your hair done?!"

"Where do you get your nails done?"

"What is your favourite chocolate bar?"

"What do you wear? Boxers or briefs?"

"How do you sleep? Pajamas or all natural?"

"GAH!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "What is WRONG with you people?!"

"Inuyasha! Heeelp!!!"

"Huh?"

Inuyasha and Kagome looked into the crowd and saw Kouga, Miroku, Ayame and Sango struggling to get through and reach them.

"Help! Inuyasha! Kagome! Help us get away from these psychos!" Sango shouted as she and the others finally successfully broke free from the sea of reporters.

"You're not going to get much help from us!" Kagome said. "We're on the run!" She pointed behind herself and the others gaped at the people who were chasing them.

"Then let's move it!" Miroku shouted, all animosity between him and Inuyasha forgotten.

The enlarged group turned and started skating furiously for the gondola, which seemed to be their only escape route. As they reached it, however, a very peeved Myouga stepped out of one of the gondolas that had just descended. When he spotted his students, he snapped, "Inuyasha! Kouga! I'm VERY disappointed in the two of you! And didn't I tell you, Inuyasha, that I have something to discuss wit-"

"No time now, coach!" Kouga yelled as the six changed routes and breezed on by him.

"Are we gaining time on them?" Kagome asked. "'Cause my legs are really starting to burn!"

"I'd carry you," Inuyasha shouted back, "but I'm afraid it'd be a little awkward...!"

"I think we've got a little time on them, since we've got skis on and they're only on their feet. Still...it's pretty close. No time to stop!"

"I hate my life right now," Kagome said hopelessly as they continued skiing around the mountain.

"INU-BUNS!!!" an annoyingly familiar voice squealed.

The six friends turned their heads to see Jodi running down the end of a hill, her skis flung over one shoulder and her poles held in her opposite hand. She'd obviously had no more luck skiing than she had been having at the top of the mountain.

"Jodi's back?!" Miroku and Kouga asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately..." Inuyasha said as he tried to ignore her.

"Inu-puppy, I've been looking all over for you!" Jodi giggled joyfully as she ran after the fleeing friends, seconds before the mob that was following them.

"This day just gets better and better..." Ayame muttered.

"You're telling me..." Kouga agreed. "This is certainly ONE way of warming up, but not one I would prefer..."

"Just keep skiing!" Sango snapped. "We...must...go...faster!" she said as she pumped her legs as much as she could.

"Great..." Kagome said dryly as they continued skiing around the mountain. "This is just perfect. I mean, now all we need is for Naraku to show up..."

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

As if she had summoned him, they saw that Naraku was coming down a hill in front of them and stopped just short of their group.

"Spoke too soon..." Kagome muttered angrily at herself.

Ayame looked at him for a split second before shuddering and saying, "Ugh! Horrible mental image!"

"More like horrible memory!" Sango said. "I'll never be able to look at that boy the same way again!"

"Split!" Kouga shouted and everyone quickly split off to each side and skied around Naraku.

"Hey!" the boy shouted after them. "Come back here! I'm not finished with you yet!"

"We'll take a rain check!" Miroku shouted back.

Looking back, Inuyasha noticed that Naraku joined the ranks of the mob behind them. "This is insane..." he said.

"Hiten, we can't let them get away!"

"Kouga, will you pose for the cover of Teen Fashion?!"

"Inuyasha, can I have your autograph?!"

"Kouga and Inuyasha! Get back here right now! We need to train!"

"Inuyasha, I want our eighteenth child to be named Winifred!"

"I will win the upcoming competition, you amateurs!"

"Oh, my god, Kouga, will you go out with me?!"

"Do you wear jock straps while racing?"

"I need to discuss something VERY important with you, Inuyasha! Stop skiing away!"

"And our twenty-fifth child will be named Jodyasha!"

"You have nothing on me, Inuyasha! I'll leave you behind in my snow!"

"Nazuna, speed up! We'll never catch up to them like this!"

"Miroku, can I have lock of your hair?!"

"You two get back here! You'll never win the competition the way you're acting!"

"They won't win the competition at all! I will!"

"I want my wedding dress to be a dazzling pearl white!"

"You skiing scum! We'll get you yet!"

"And I'll have fifteen bridesmaids!"

"Kagome Higurashi! Are you or are you not officially dating Inuyasha Dareshi?!"

"Your chances of winning this race are zero!"

"INUYASHA! This is of dire importance! We must talk now!"

"Kouga, will you sign my butt?!"

"When we catch up with you, you're gonna regret the day you ever insulted us!"

"Miroku, is it true your favourite television show is the Teletubbies?!"

"Holy crap!" exclaimed Inuyasha. "Nothing short of a miracle is going to get us out of this mess!"

"BROTHER!!!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!"

Right in front of the six runaways was Sesshoumaru. He was standing calmly, directly in their path, and Rin and Jaken were off to the side. All six tried desperately to stop in time to avoid hitting him and as they did so, massive amounts of snow flew up and completely covered the famous ice dancer. The humongous crowd following behind also stopped at the sight of this new development.

Sesshoumaru slowly raised a hand and wiped off a few of the snowflakes that were covering his face. In a dry voice, he said, "Nice to see you too...Brother."

..:V:..

A/N I'm done! So sorry about the delay guys, but I hope this eight-page whopper makes up for it. Everybody was in it! And Sesshy's back! Heh, heh, heh...

Okay, I'll be gone up to my cottage all of next week, so I don't know if I'll be able to write at all; we're having a family get together and it's going to be so much fun! But, yeah...but I shouldn't be delayed too long, so don't worry; just thought I'd give you a heads up.

Now I know you're all dying to rush off and paint your nails like Jodi's so I'll just leave you with this thought: Every one out of four people in this world are mentally disturbed. Check three friends. If they're okay, you're it. Ciao for now!


	26. Pepper Spray Solves All

Disclaimer: "I have some great news!" (Super Ceech)

"You own Inuyasha?" (Readers)

"No, but I just saved a ton of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!" (Super Ceech)

A/N Lol, I love Geico commercials...but I'm just joking...I have no car insurance...sigh...

Anymewho, HOLY COW!!! ...Buh buh...? 75 reviews for ONE update...?! Let me sit down...

Alright...(gulp)...all mention of that shocking response aside, I'd like to congratulate xo-Kagome-ox for being my 600th reviewer! I forgot to mention it last time so I'm taking the time now! :) Oh, and now I've ALSO made it to 700 reviews! Wowzers... Thank you D-E-V-L-41 for being my 700th reviewer! This is insane...

Salut, Lusankya! ;) I have indeed been to Quebec multiple times, but in fact, we have poutine here too in Ontario. They actually now sell it in our school cafeterias...

And I apologize for the extended delay; my summer's quite busy and hectic this year, it's nuts! I'm trying, guys...

Oh, also! There were a few weird typos in the last chapter, as many or all of you noticed. They were not of my doing, however! In my original document, everything's fine...but I guess when I uploaded to , they screwed it up or something...grrr...

The most noticeable place is here: (this is the correct version)

"Inuyasha, take me; I'm yours!" Jodi proclaimed before launching at him. Unfortunately for Kagome, Jodi ended up sprawled across her lap, reaching her hands out towards you not?" Kagome asked, looking down at the seemingly mentally disturbed girl invading her personal air bubble.

There ya go! I hope that makes more sense now...hopefully nothing screws up with this upload...

..:V:..

Sesshoumaru calmly surveyed the crowd stopped in front of him. "Jaken!" he said, holding out his left hand towards his coach. "The pepper spray, please."

"Yes, Sesshoumaru! Right away, Sesshoumaru!" the little toad-like man babbled as he began scrounging in his many pockets.

As soon as the mob had heard the words, "pepper spray," however, they all began to turn and slink away as quickly as they could. All except Jodi, that was, who insisted to stay by Inuyasha, and Myouga, who still needed to discuss something with his trainee.

"Inuyasha, honey-muffin-cupcake-fudge-cookie-cheesecake-ice cream-surprise! I love you so much!!! I can't wait for our glorious wedding and for our honeymoon, I wanna go to Macquarie Island!" Jodi cried gleefully as she pounced on Inuyasha and began to hug the life out of him.

"Uhhh...where the heck is Macquarie Island...?" Kouga asked in confusion as the others attempted to pry the obsessed fangirl off of their friend.

"Macquarie Island is a remote island in the middle of nowhere," Sesshoumaru replied calmly. "Supposedly, it's a part of Australia..."

"Ah...I see..." Kouga said, though it was plain that he didn't "see" at all.

"Jaken!" Sesshoumaru said with a hint of a sharp tone to his voice.

"Ah, yes, right away, Sesshoumaru!" Jaken said, plucking a bottle from one of his inner pockets. "Here it is, Sesshoumaru!"

Sesshoumaru took the bottle from his "coach" without so much as a "thank you" and proceeded to expertly spray the harmful substance straight into the rabid fangirl's eyes. Jodi screamed and clawed at her now-closed eyes, freeing Inuyasha from her death grip.

"If ever there was a time to make your escape, brother," Sesshoumaru said to Inuyasha, "I believe now would be it."

"Right!" Inuyasha said, agreeing with his brother for once, as the whole group, save Sesshoumaru, quickly ran or skied away. Sesshoumaru instead insisted on sauntering in a dignified manner, leaving the fangirl to try and clean out her eyes.

"Now, Inuyasha," Myouga said. "Come with me!"

Inuyasha groaned, but figured he'd been avoiding Myouga long enough and that his coach would never leave him in peace until he had conversed with him about the matter of great importance; whatever it was.

"Can we tag along?" Ayame asked Myouga innocently.

Myouga glanced at the over-sized group and was about to protest when Sesshoumaru said, "You might as well, Myouga. They want to know and they'll probably find out anyways."

"Oh, so you're with him...?" Sango asked, confused.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yes; Myouga informed me of his intentions and I felt I must join the discussion as it is a matter that involves...our father..." he said delicately.

"D-Dad...?" Inuyasha asked in a choked voice.

"Yes," Myouga said briskly. "Now, if you don't want me giving up on you entirely, I suggest you follow me to a meeting room in the lodge I've reserved. There's already someone there, waiting for us."

Everyone other than Sesshoumaru and Myouga glanced at each other in confusion before shrugging and following the skiing coach. They left all of their skis and poles on the ski rack and walked into the lodge, glancing fearfully around for any members of the large crowd that was chasing them earlier. Fortunately, the way was clear, and the large group made their way further back in the lodge and went into a large room that branched off from the main section. Once inside, Myouga shut the door behind them.

There was a long table down the centre of the room and many seats were tucked up against it. At the head of the table opposite the group sat an older man, obviously the one Myouga had mentioned a moments before. The man had gray hair only around the sides of his head, for the top was bald. The little hair he did have was pulled back into a scrawny ponytail behind his head. The old man also had a limp gray mustache and a scraggly gray beard just off the tip of his chin. Bulging eyes looked out from the man's face as he studied the large group before him.

"Everyone," Myouga said, indicating the man. "This is Toutousai. Toutousai, this is Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, and their many followers."

"We've already met," Sesshoumaru said nonchalantly as he took a seat on one side of the table. Inuyasha immediately hastened around to the other side so he didn't have to sit near his brother. Everyone else quickly took a seat around the long table.

"Now," Toutousai spoke up. "Down to business; and might I say, this is a fairly serious matter."

"Sure, old man," Inuyasha brushed him off as he leaned back in his chair. "Just get on with it, will ya?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome whispered from her place beside him. "Be more polite!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Inuyasha muttered, looking pensive. Something seemed to be on his mind.

Toutousai looked darkly at the insolent boy. "Maybe I should just pack up my things now and begone..." he muttered, almost to himself. "I don't see how you're in any way worthy of this honour..."

Inuyasha was quick to grow irritated. "Just spit it out! If this has something to do with our father, I wanna know about it!"

Toutousai looked affronted. "Well, ALRIGHT, young man. Hmph, you don't have to yell at me. Let's see...how to begin... Well, as we all know, your father died four years ago-"

"Wait a minute-what?!" Kagome broke in. She turned to Inuyasha. "He did?!"

Inuyasha was looking down at the table where one of his clenched fists was resting. "Yes," he muttered.

"Well...well..." Kagome was at a loss for words. "Is your mother still around, at least?"

"His mother passed away two years ago," Sesshoumaru said calmly when Inuyasha didn't respond.

Kagome gaped at the boy beside her. "Wow...I never knew... Why didn't you tell me?"

Inuyasha shrugged casually while avoiding eye contact with her. "The subject never came up... What does it matter, anyway?" he added somewhat bitterly. "They're dead. Get over it; I have!"

Kagome looked at Inuyasha sympathetically and reached under the table to grasp his free hand with her own. The startled boy turned to finally look at her, his eyes full of emotion. When he saw her understanding expression, Inuyasha gave her a small grin of gratitude and then turned back to Toutousai. His hand gave hers a gentle squeeze under the table.

"AS I was saying," Toutousai continued, looking appalled that he was interrupted, "Your father died four years ago, but before then, he was the great ski racer known as Inutaisho Dareshi. He was on the national ski team and was known widely around the world as possibly the best racer of his time. Now, just before he died however, he started a project with me that is not so well known to the world..."

The group around the conference table leaned forward slightly as the old man captivated their attention.

"Now Inutaisho knew his sons were devoted to their two separate sports and he wanted to create something in their...honour, I suppose is the most appropriate term," Toutousai said. "But I suppose I could say create something to show his love for them or create something especially for them..." he continued muttering softly to himself.

"Oh, we get the point, for crying out loud!" Inuyasha said. "Just get on with the stupid story!"

Toutousai cleared his throat rather hastily at the rude remark. "Erm...well, yes. Anyways, he decided that for you, Inuyasha, he would make a new brand of ski; a slalom ski that would be fast, manoeuvrable and exactly fitted to your amazing skills. And for Sesshoumaru, he would create a new brand of skate that would be comfortable and perfect for every move he needed to execute."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Whoop-dee-do... Whatever _happened_ to these skis and skates anyway...?"

Toutousai glared at the insolent teen. "I was just getting to that. You see, Inutaisho and I were only ever to create one prototype of the skis and skates before he died. I then decided I would wait to give you two your destined equipment until you were each seventeen. As you might have already deduced, Sesshoumaru has already received his advanced skates; the Tenseiga skates," Toutousai finished proudly. Then his expression drooped. "Unfortunately, however, he refused them and I still carry them around with me."

Rin turned to regard the stoic man beside her incredulously. "You _what_?!" she near screeched. "How could you refuse an elite brand of skate made by your father especially for you?!"

Sesshoumaru shrugged calmly. "Have you looked at them?"

"Have I looked at them...?" Rin muttered in bewilderment to herself. "What does it matter what they look like...?"

Toutousai lifted a box up onto the table. "Actually, I have the Tenseiga skates right here if you'd like to take a look. There's nothing wrong with them, really."

Toutousai lifted the lid on the box in front of him and gingerly lifted out one of the special skates. He then proceeded to pass it to Ayame, who was on his left and she past it on to the next person and so on and so forth until it finally reached Rin, who was on Toutousai's right. Everyone gaped at the fancy, elite-looking skate; especially Rin who kept glancing incredulously from the skate in her possession to the expressionless man beside her.

"How could you refuse this?!" she demanded. "I see nothing wrong with it!"

"Rin..." Sesshoumaru started, looking like he was desperately trying to control his indignation. "The laces...are pink," he finished with a strong tone of finality.

Rin stared at him. "That's it...? You refused your father's awesome skates because the laces are pink?! Why didn't you just change the laces?!"

Sesshoumaru sniffed primly. "Father wouldn't have wanted me to change any aspect of them. So instead of wearing those "Tenseiga" skates with the offensively pink laces, I now wear the Tokijin skates, which have red laces."

"But red is-" Inuyasha was about to comment on how red and pink were so similar when Sesshoumaru slowly and deliberately took out his pepper spray again; which he began toying with it with his fingers.

"Yes, brother?" Sesshoumaru asked delicately, but meaningfully.

Inuyasha swallowed, eyeing the can that had caused Jodi to scream and furiously claw at her eyes. "Red's a good colour," he said hastily.

"That's what I thought," Sesshoumaru mused, not taking his hand off of his pepper spray as he surveyed the other members of the group at the table. No one else offered their opinion.

"Sooo..." Inuyasha spoke up after a brief silence. "If he got the Tenseiga skates, what did I get?"

"Ah, yes," Toutousai said, reaching under the table for a new package. He hauled up a long ski bag and slid it across the table to where Inuyasha was sitting. "Those are the Tetsusaiga skis; designed especially for you in a slalom race. You wouldn't use them for GS because as you can see, they're shorter, which gives you more of an advantage in a slalom course, but less of an advantage in a giant slalom one."

Inuyasha, Kouga and Miroku nodded in understanding while the others just looked on blankly. "Um..." Ayame said, confusion clearly etched into her features.

Kouga took it upon himself to explain. "A shorter ski means you can turn more, faster. It has a shorter turning radius," he said as if that explained everything.

"Ah..." Sango said delicately, clearly not understanding in the least.

"Ah, forget it," Inuyasha said when Miroku opened his mouth in order to try his hand at explaining. "Just know that shorter skis are better for slalom races and longer skis are preferred for GS. We could go into a huge explanation about why, but it'd just waste time and you'd probably end up not understanding anyway."

The girls shrugged. "Whatever..."

Inuyasha unzipped the ski bag and gently took out one of his new, elite slalom skis. They were sleek and shaped appropriately for quick turning and manoeuvring. Red and black colours swirled together throughout the length of the ski and at the back, the word "Tetsusaiga" was printed in black letters. At the front of the ski, melded in with the black and red colours, was a snarling white dog baring its ferocious fangs.

"Awesome," Inuyasha whispered as he removed the other ski from the bag. He handed one to Kouga for inspection; Kouga in turn, whistled his approval for the new brand of ski.

"Oh, sure," Sesshoumaru muttered, somewhat bitterly. "His skis are cool colours, but _I_ get pink... The Tetsusaiga colours should have been mine!"

Rin rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over it," she said, clearly stating what everyone was thinking. "You don't need 'cool colours' to be an awesome ice dancer. And I mean, come on. Hardly anyone's going to see the laces when we're skating! And we can hide them with your costumes! And, honestly now; if you can wear something fluffy every time you skate, surely you can live with pink laces!"

Sesshoumaru didn't say anything for a moment. Then, grumbling, he conceded, "Well...I'll take them and carry them around with me while I think about it. That doesn't mean I'll use them!"

Toutousai made an exasperated sound. "Oy! At least someone can talk some sense into the boy! I've been lugging this equipment around with me for ages! Please; take it off my hands! I've got to get back to my shop before my customers go beserk!"

"Your shop?" Kagome inquired. "What do you sell?"

Toutousai looked at her as if she were insane. "What do you think? Sports equipment of course! That's why Inutaisho came to me in the first place!"

"Oh," Kagome said, somewhat subdued. "Okay..."

"Hey, have you or are you going to make more equipment of the Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga brands?" Miroku asked politely.

"Well..." Toutousai mused, stroking his scraggly beard. "I haven't made any more as of yet. You see, those were only the prototypes...they've never been completely tested. I was hoping Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha could try them out before I made any more models... I don't know if Sesshoumaru ever will now, but perhaps you, Inuyasha, could try the Tetsusaiga skis in the upcoming competition I've been hearing about...?"

"Will I ever!" Inuyasha exclaimed, a gleam in his eyes as he continued to examine his new possession.

"Ah, good then," Toutousai said, packing up his things and standing up. "Then I will leave them to you to practice with before the race. And I sincerely hope you can match up to your father's immense skill and somehow be worthy of those skis." With a last look at Inuyasha as if to say 'you could never be worthy of those skis I made,' Toutousai grasped a walking stick that was beside him and hobbled out of the room.

"Weird old man," Inuyasha muttered once Toutousai had left. "I don't like him much...but I gotta say, I already love these skis!"

"Well, then, dog-turd, why don't we go skiing some more so you can try them out?" Kouga suggested as if he thought Inuyasha was the stupidest thing on the earth...which probably wasn't too far off from his actual thoughts.

"Yeah, yeah...whatever, _captain_," Inuyasha said, reminding Kouga of his hairdo the day before.

"Hey, guys!" Rin said cheerfully. "I've got another idea! Sesshy and I were just about to head back to the skating arena to practice; did you guys want to come along? Then you can hang out and skate with us!"

Inuyasha looked uncomfortable as he eyed his new skis. "Er...well, um..." he started to protest.

Sesshoumaru's toying with his pepper spray can increased until Inuyasha and everyone else's attention was drawn to it. "I think it would be in your best interest...brother," he said, not wanting Rin to be unhappy.

Inuyasha gave the can an uneasy glance. "Um...sure, Rin. Whatever..."

Rin clapped her hands together happily. "Alright! Well, let's head over right now, then!"

"Umm...call me crazy, Rin, but uhh...I didn't think of bringing my skates..." Kagome said. Ayame and Sango nodded in agreement.

"Hmm...well..." Rin said, seeming to consider something. "I have a bunch of extra skates...and you all look about my foot size...maybe you guys could fit into mine!"

"And what about the guys?" Ayame said, looking at Kouga, Miroku and Inuyasha.

"Oh, we always bring our skates," Miroku said as if it were no big deal. "Rin always drags us out skating one way or another so we're constantly prepared!"

"Ah," Sango said in understanding. "Okay, then! Let's go!"

Inuyasha sighed and looked mournfully at his skis before re-packing them in their bag and picking them up. He followed all the others out of the room and out of the lodge. Everyone then separated to go to their separate condos to prepare for an afternoon of skating. Myouga left to go off and find the departed Toutousai and Sesshoumaru, Rin and Jaken waited by Kagome's van for all of the others.

Not fifteen minutes later, everyone rejoined and piled into the large van, Jaken inevitably having to ride in the trunk due to the number of people outnumbering the number of seats. After a short drive, they ended up at the skating arena. They entered the large building and made their way down to the changing rooms.

Sango, Ayame and Kagome found that Rin's skates indeed fit them and soon the girls were all suited up and ready to skate. Inuyasha, however, had a plan to carry out.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru!" he called as he walked up to his brother, who was preparing to lace up his Tokijin skates. "I think you should wear the Tenseiga skates this afternoon."

"And I think not, brother," Sesshoumaru said, easily brushing the matter aside.

"Well, I think _so_," Inuyasha insisted. "Or else _I_'m going to the media with all the photos I have of you going through puberty! For example, all of those times you posed in front of the mirror in nothing but your boxers?"

Sesshoumaru glared at his brother for a moment before slowly holding out his hand to Rin. "Rin..." he said in a dangerous voice. "Hand me my Tenseiga skates."

Rin quickly handed her partner his pink-laced skates and scurried out of the way. Sesshoumaru slowly and deliberately put them on and tied them on, never taking his eyes off of Inuyasha as if to accentuate his point. Once finished, Sesshoumaru stood up to his full height and glared down at Inuyasha. "There, brother. I'll wear these stupid skates; which means those horrible pictures must never be released...to _anyone_."

Inuyasha smirked. "You're safe...for now." With that, he went off to another corner of the change room to put on his own skates.

When everyone was laced up and ready to go, they all clumsily staggered out to the rink.

"Do you guys practice every day, Rin?" Sango asked the girl.

"Pretty much," Rin conceded. "We've got to keep up our skill level and constantly try to improve! So we come skating every day when the rink is empty. We skate until the Zamboni arrives to clean the ice," she informed them.

"Cool!" Ayame said cheerfully as she gingerly stepped out onto the ice. The boys followed right after her, and so did Rin.

"Any complaints?" Rin asked Sesshoumaru teasingly as he tested out his new skates.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "I refuse to answer that," he said as he skated away. Rin grinned as she realized that the skates must be really elite to evoke no complaints from the great Sesshoumaru.

As Sango stepped onto the ice, she slipped and started to fall forward. Miroku, however, was quick to grasp onto her forearm and steady her. She looked up into his concerned face and gave him a quick smile. "Thanks," she said. "I haven't been skating for a while so..."

Miroku gave her a reassuring smile. "No problem, Sango! Do you want me to skate with you until you get your ice-legs back?"

"Umm...sure," Sango agreed with a smile. "That'd be nice."

The two slowly skated off down to the other end of the rink together as all of the others made their way out onto the ice.

Kouga offered his hand to Ayame and, with a blush, she accepted it. They began skating around the rink hand in hand, talking and laughing together.

Rin and Sesshoumaru immediately began practising their ice dancing moves, which included jumps, spins and lifts of many sorts. Kagome looked on in awe for a moment or two before Inuyasha waved his hand in front of her face in an irritated manner.

"Hello! Earth to Kagome! You gonna skate or just stare at my brother and Rin all day?" Inuyasha asked her, smirking at her embarrassed expression.

"Well...hey!" Kagome protested. "I've always been more of a watcher of skating than an actual skater..."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Well, come on and skate! Now isn't the time to watch!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, but she almost immediately lost control of her feet and tumbled into Inuyasha's chest.

A blush on her cheeks, Kagome lifted her head enough to look up at the boy who was holding her in his strong arms. She giggled softly. "I told you I'm not much of a skater... I've actually only been skating a few times, and that was with my school a long time ago..."

Inuyasha grinned at her distress. "Do I have to teach you how to do everything?" he joked.

Kagome made a face. "You're just smug 'cause you're a...a do-it-all, you...you...laugher at my humiliation!"

"That's right," Inuyasha laughed at her pathetic insults as he straightened her on her skates. Then he took her hands gently in his own. "Now, allow me, rookie."

Kagome stuck her tongue out at the jest, but allowed Inuyasha to slowly lead her around the rink; him skating backwards and pulling her slowly along by her hands.

The afternoon continued on in much the same manner; Sesshoumaru and Rin practising their ice dance moves and techniques, Kouga and Ayame skating happily together, Miroku helping Sango to reacquaint herself with the ice, and Inuyasha helping Kagome learn how to become a better skater.

"So..." Kouga said to Ayame as they skated side by side. "I thought you were a swimmer, not a skater."

Ayame grinned. "And I thought you were a ski racer, not a skater."

"Touché," Kouga conceded. "But skiing and skating are alike in many ways, if you think about it. So if you're good at one, it doesn't take much time to be good at the other. Especially if you have an overly-cheerful ice dancer that drags you skating every time you see her."

"Hey!" Rin said playfully as she and Sesshoumaru passed the pair on the ice.

Ayame laughed. "I suppose that makes sense... Well, I just skate frequently with my family and such so...you know...I'm not spectacular, but I'm not completely horrible either!"

Kouga chuckled. "Well, you're good enough for me!"

Ayame was left to ponder the double entendre as they continued skating.

"Hey, it's coming back to me now!" Sango said, smiling with her feeling of success.

"Ah," Miroku said happily, but somehow also with a bit of a disappointed air. "I'll just...let you alone to skate now then, shall I?"

As he started off in a different direction, Sango came to a quick decision. She hastily reached out and grasped Miroku's arm. When he turned to look at her inquiringly, she stuttered, "Um...well...you know...you could keep skating with me...that is...if you want to..."

Miroku smiled and quickly nodded his agreement, keeping his hands under control for once.

Later on in the afternoon, when it was nearing four o'clock, the Zamboni machine began to emerge from its normal resting place; though the driver seemed slightly perturbed about something. Everyone began shuffling off of the ice, except for Rin who stayed to perform one last jump.

Upon her landing, however, her ankle seemed to twist the wrong way and, with a cry of pain, Rin collapsed on the ice; directing in front of the Zamboni. The driver noticed her, but didn't slow down. He began fiddling furiously with his controls, but the machine wasn't stopping. "There's something wrong with the brake!" he cried out anxiously. "I can't stop it!"

Rin's eyes widened and she tried frantically to get up, but her ankle caused her too much pain and she fell back onto the ice with a whimper of pain.

Sesshoumaru launched himself back onto the ice yelling, "Rin! I must save you, my one true-" Everyone held their breath. Was he going to say what they thought he was going to say? "-ice dance partner!" he finished. Everyone let out a disappointed sigh.

Sesshoumaru skated quickly where to where Rin sat on the ice. Quickly crouching and scooping his precious ice dance partner up in his arms, he darted out of the path of the Zamboni, glaring at the driver. Once he had safely deposited Rin with the others, off of the ice, he skated back to the Zamboni and yanked the emergency brake. Then he calmly took out his pepper spray from the inner folds of his clothing and sprayed it into the driver's eyes.

"Maybe you'll think twice next time before being so careless as to almost run over my ice dance partner!" Sesshoumaru said scathingly as the driver yelped and began to rub his burning eyes.

As the others gaped at him in astonishment, Sesshoumaru came back toward the group and picked up Rin again. Without another word, he stalked off to the change rooms.

"It just goes to show..." Inuyasha muttered, watching Sesshoumaru walk away. "_Never_ get on Fluffy's bad side..."

..:V:..

A/N Hey, guys! There ya go! Don't ya just love Sesshoumaru? I was feeling fun today so I wrote you an info chapter, a humour chapter, and a fluff chapter, all in one! Didja like it? I hope so! Don't forget to tell me your thoughts!

And I just wanted to inform you all that I'll be leaving for ten days on a nice vacation to Newfoundland so I won't be able to write during that time! So sorry, but I hope this was a good chapter to leave on! My going away present to all of you, lol! Don't worry, I'll be back soon enough! Talk to ya later, and remember: A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn.


	27. A Day on the Town

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but I'm currently setting up a rescue team to save him from Kikyo's clutches. Anyone wanna join?

A/N Okay, folks! Here I am, back again! -grins- I think you guys are going to like this chapter...

Oh! Canadians everywhere! We may rejoice! New Inuyasha episodes have come to us! And to all you Americans laughing at us right now because you already have them...well...have a reminder of Naraku in a speedo! Bet you're not laughing anymore, huh?

To those of you who thought that Sesshoumaru might have been out of character for that last bit in the previous chapter...wait a minute...I must have missed the memo informing everyone that Sesshoumaru had gotten a character... I mean, to be out of character you kinda have to have a personality first, right? No, I'm just kidding. He was slightly out of character I'll admit...but it was fun...and I couldn't resist. So I guess you'll just have to live with me as I ride on my cloud of insanity...

Okay. That passage screwed up again in the last update. I'm tired of trying to fix it. You guys can guess what it said, right? Jodi was flung across Kagome's lap, reaching out for Inuyasha. Then Kagome asked "Could you not?" and then it continued as you can see in the screwed up version. Thank you and have a nice day.

WARNING!!!: Grapefruit ahead!!! You have been warned! Yes, that's right. GRAPEFRUIT!!! Didn't see that one coming, didja? Well, since you're all so baffled now, I'll tell you that Spacewolf, Calum and I decided that since some -cough- events got labelled as citrus fruits, why didn't others? I mean, there should be a scale, right? So, I'll inform you that we created the scale; it goes orange, grapefruit, lime, and then lemon. Oranges have already happened in this fic. You figure out what grapefruit means.

..:V:..

"Kagome..."

Kagome glanced up at the silver haired boy walking slowly towards her. She frowned. Why was he wearing a loin cloth? And why were there dog ears on his head...?

She shrugged. It made sense.

"Kagome," Inuyasha repeated, walking towards her.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" she breathed, her heart racing. Why was her heart racing? Would it win? Could she put a trophy for first place in a heart race on her mantle? She shook her head. There was no time to think of that. There was an incredibly sexy hunk in a loincloth in front of her. She _must_ sort out her priorities!

"Kagome, I..." Inuyasha started, but didn't seem to know how to express himself in words. Instead, he placed his strong hands on either side of her slim waist and pulled her closer to his warm, firm body. He began leaning towards her. Kagome eyed his lips as they inched closer to her own...closer...closer...

"KAGOME!!!"

The shrill voice pierced through Kagome's warped dream and jolted her upright in her bed with a loud, "HOLY SH-" She glanced around for a moment at the two other girls in the room and checked her language. "HHHHOOT!" she finished.

Sango gave her friend a funny look. "Kagome...what were you dreaming about...?"

Kagome thought back to her bizarre dream and blushed. "Uhhh.... codfish!"

"Ahhh, so you were trying to imitate fish lips!" Ayame said in sudden understanding. "That's what all the puckering was about!"

"Uhhh...uh huh..." Kagome smiled weakly and nodded.

"They must have been fascinating codfish," Sango said. "We've been trying to wake you up forever and it hasn't been working..."

"Um...they were! Incredible animal, the codfish..." Kagome said quickly.

"Well, come on downstairs, fish lips," Sango continued. "We ought to go have breakfast before the boys come a-knocking."

Kagome nodded, blushing at the reminder of a certain boy... Weird dream...didn't make a ton of sense, but she couldn't deny that she enjoyed it... Wait a minute! What was she saying?! She didn't think of Inuyasha like..._that_... Did she...? Naaaahhh...he was only hot, athletic, sweet when he wasn't being a jerk, fun to be around, cute, funny, an all around great guy... Nothing special.

Oh, dear.

Ack! ...She was falling for Inuyasha! No way! When could this possibly have started?! Last week, she had hated him and all he was! Nooooo! Why did she have to be falling for such a perfect guy?

Wait.

Why was she complaining?

Kagome shrugged and smiled happily to herself. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all, liking Inuyasha _a bit_ more than a friend. After all, it was only a bit.

"Kagome? Where are you? Did you get lost between your room and the kitchen?" Ayame yelled up to her friend.

"Ha ha!" Kagome called back. "I'm just going to have a shower, that's all!"

"Okay, but hurry up!" Ayame responded. "The boys should be here soon!"

"'Kay!" Kagome said, making her way to her bathroom with the happy thought of a certain semi-date she had with a certain boy that evening in her head. Inches before entering the bathroom, however, she stopped. Dashing to her bedroom door, she called out to her friends, "Uh, guys? We're going out with the boys tonight, right? Well, I don't have anything nice to wear! All my clothes is either track pants or casual, everyday stuff! I need to do some serious shopping!"

There was a pause before, "Ahh! You're right! I don't have anything either!" Ayame responded.

"Me neither!" Sango admitted. "And I have to look good for Miroku!"

"Uhh...wait a minute, let me rephrase that-" Sango began.

"Don't bother," Ayame cut in. "We know _exactly_ what you mean."

"B-but-" Sango sputtered.

Ayame held up a hand to silence her. "How about this, guys? I'll call the guys and we'll all make a special trip into town today! That way we can buy stuff and the boys can...well, the boys can...um...keep us company?"

Kagome shrugged from her position upstairs. "Sounds like a good idea. Okay, call them and tell them to come over in fifteen minutes! I'll hopefully be ready by then!" With that, she dashed into the shower.

..:V:..

Miroku hung up the phone with a click and turned to his two friends who were starting to put on their ski equipment. "Uh...you might wanna hold off on that, guys," he said. When Inuyasha and Kouga turned to give him curious looks, he continued, "That was Ayame who just called. Apparently, the girls have spontaneously planned a day on the town and want us to come along..."

Inuyasha looked longingly at his new Tetsusaiga skis. "B-but...but..."

"Oh, get over it," Kouga said. "It's not like you'll never get to use them."

"I'm sorry, was I the only one who noticed the first day of the competition is tomorrow?" Inuyasha snapped, recovering.

"I noticed, mutt face," Kouga said. "But you need those skis for the _slalom_ race, which is the day after, Thursday. Tomorrow is _GS_, which you only need the skis you've been practising with for the past week for. Just get over it and let's go hang out with the girls."

"You're awfully eager," Inuyasha muttered as he removed his jacket and ski pants. "Must have something to do with a certain girl..."

"Whatever, dog-turd..." Kouga muttered, but without enough anger to make him seem innocent of Inuyasha's suggestion.

Inuyasha and Miroku shared a look before the latter took a look at all of their choices of clothing. "I suppose we should all change..." Miroku suggested. "I don't think we should really go around town in jogging pants and old, mismatching turtlenecks... The girls probably wouldn't want to be seen with us..."

The other two boys sighed. "I suppose..." Inuyasha grudgingly agreed, heading for his room. Miroku and Kouga soon followed his lead and entered their own rooms in order to change into something more appropriate.

When they had all emerged in jeans and long-sleeved shirts, the boys once more grabbed their jackets, but instead of putting on their ski boots, they slipped into their normal snow boots and headed out the door. After casually strolling over to the girls' condo, they ascended the inside stairs and rapped smartly on their condo door.

Sango opened the door and admitted them while yelling up the stairs for Kagome to come down. The boys noticed that Ayame was finishing a bowl of cereal while Sango walked back to the table and took her empty bowl over to the sink in order to wash it clean. A few moments later, Kagome rushed down the stairs, still in the process of securing a pink jewelled earing in her ear. "I'm here! I'm ready!" she proclaimed to the group.

"Uh, Kagome...?" Sango said. "You haven't eaten breakfast yet."

As Kagome opened her mouth to respond, Inuyasha cut in, "That's alright. I haven't eaten anything either. We'll get something in town together."

Kagome smiled brightly at him. "Okay!" she agreed.

Miroku raised an eyebrow and shared a look with Kouga. Both could distinctly remember Inuyasha stuffing eggs, toast and bacon down his throat earlier that morning... 'Inuyasha, you sly dog, you,' Miroku thought in his head.

"So...everyone ready, then...?" Kouga asked.

"Yup!" Ayame said, finishing her cereal and taking it to the sink where Sango quickly washed it with her own. The three girls grabbed their purses and jackets and walked out with the boys, locking their condo behind them.

Outside, the group decided to travel in two different vehicles to allow for more mobility in the town. Inuyasha and Miroku's cars were chosen over Kagome's van since they were less bulky and the boys insisted that they were much sleeker and sexier as well.

After rolling their eyes at the boys' argument, the girls sorted out the seating arrangements. It turned out that Inuyasha, Kagome and Ayame would ride in Inuyasha's car while Miroku, Sango and Kouga would ride in Miroku's. Once in to town, Inuyasha and Kagome were going to search for a restaurant while the others went their separate ways. The girls would meet up again at lunch time to pick out their clothes for the evening while the boys would...well, the boys would...um...keep them company?

After fifteen minutes of driving, the two cars of teenagers arrived in the town of Devil's Peak. Ayame and Kouga disembarked and walked off together towards a few souvenir stores while Miroku and Sango waved and drove off down another street.

"Hmm...guess that leaves us alone together..." Inuyasha mused, shifting his car into gear. "Let's go find some chow."

"Mmm...yeah!" Kagome agreed. "I'm starved! Take me to a place of edible materials!"

Inuyasha glanced at her with a grin. "And where exactly would you like to go, oh mighty princess?"

Kagome lazily stretched before flopping back sideways in her seat so she could have a better look at the boy next to her. "Hmm..." she said thoughtfully. "I'm not so keen on normal fast food restaurant breakfasts... How about Tim Hortons?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "Sounds good to me! I could do with a hot chocolate...it's a pretty cold day."

"Yeah," Kagome agreed with a shiver; as if to accentuate the point. "I'm going to have a hot chocolate, a croissant and a chocolate chip muffin!"

Inuyasha chuckled as he pulled into a Tim Hortons. "Well, thank you for your order, ma'am; I'll have it ready for you as soon as we order at the actual restaurant."

Kagome laughed and punched him in the arm. "Thanks, _waitress_," she said as they got out of the car and headed for the restaurant.

..:V:..

"Ah, there's something wonderful about this fine season known as winter," Miroku said, sighing blissfully as he took in their frosty surroundings.

"And there's something suspicious about your hand inching closer and closer towards my butt," Sango muttered, quickly catching his offending hand before it reached an unsanctioned area. After she had crushed it sufficiently, however, and released it, Miroku was quick to use it to recapture her hand and hold it gently.

Sango looked down in shock at their joined hands, but when she looked up at saw Miroku's earnest smile, she couldn't help but tentatively smile back.

As she and Miroku walked hand and hand down the little wintry street, Sango felt a warm tingling sensation in her stomach. There was something about this situation...that truly made her content. The thought made a faint tinge rise to her cheeks and the mere thought that she, Sango, was blushing over a boy, made her blush even harder.

"Sango, are you getting wind chill or a sunburn? Did you want to go inside somewhere?" Miroku asked in a worried tone as he spotted her red cheeks.

Sango almost laughed at him worrying over what was nothing more than a blush, but instead opted for blushing harder out of embarrassment. "Um...no, it's alright... I like walking out here...with you..." Sango's cheeks were quite red at this point and she avoided making eye contact of any kind.

Miroku beamed at her statement and gently squeezed her hand. "I like walking with you too..." he responded honestly, without a hint of pervertedness in his tone.

Sango finally lifted her head gave him a genuine smile. "Well, then I guess we'll just keep on walking, hm?"

Miroku returned her smile. "Sounds like a perfect idea to me."

..:V:..

"Well, that old lady probably has nine children, twenty-four grandchildren, nineteen cats and one canary..." Inuyasha said, eyeing a senior lady who sat at a corner table in the restaurant.

"Hmm...good call," Kagome said, eyeing some hair she saw clinging to the lady's clothes. "Who should I analyse...?"

Inuyasha glanced around the small Tim Hortons before his gaze landed on a brooding teenage boy four tables away from them who was wearing black jeans that from his angle, looked very much like they were falling down, and a black shirt with red diagonal slashes across it, accompanied by the words, "SCREW THE WORLD!" Then there were chains hanging from his almost scandalously low pants and piercings covering most of any visible skin, and the boy's hair was longer than most females'.

"That guy," Inuyasha said, nodding his chin towards the boy in question.

Kagome grinned. "This is gonna be a piece of cake," she said smugly. "_Obviously_, the kid's depressed. He's trying to _express_ himself and his individuality by punching holes through various bits of skin and sticking shiny things in them. Clearly, his individuality has sky-rocketed by this technique and girls who have peas for brains have suddenly developed a strong attraction towards him. Oh, and he keeps his hair that long because it's 'cool'. Personally, I think it's because he needs to get in touch with his feminine side... Other than that, he probably has a fully-functional family, but of course 'nobody understands him.' He broods a lot, and he thinks the world is against him... I'd say he has both parents living together, a sister and...a dog...a Doberman."

Inuyasha nodded thoughtfully. "Good analogy. Hmm...I think we've basically analysed the general impression everyone in the restaurant gives off. They're probably the farthest from the truth...but if people are going to dress and act the way they do...we can only assume so much about them..."

Kagome nodded emphatically. "Too true."

Inuyasha looked down at their empty plates. "Well, it looks like we're done here. Good to go?"

Kagome smiled at him. "Yup! Let's blow this joint! Let's go...uh...let's go...hmm... I don't even know what there is here!"

"Well, I guess we'll just have to go out there and see now won't we?" Inuyasha said condescendingly.

"Yeah, I guess so, Mr. I'm-So-Smart," Kagome said back teasingly. "So let's go then."

"Lead the way," Inuyasha said, smirking at her. Kagome tossed her head and purposely sauntered out of the coffee shop, Inuyasha following behind.

Once outside, they decided to forsake the car and walk among the downtown shops. They looked in the windows every now and then, but saw nothing special. Then they came upon a souvenir shop and Kagome insisted they head inside to take a look around. She claimed that you never know when you might find something that you absolutely _needed_ to get for one of your friends, or a family member. Inuyasha responded by shrugging and saying he'd take her word for it.

They were greeted by a kindly old man behind a small counter and they noticed right away that the shop itself was not overly spacious. Inuyasha stood casually by the door with his hands in his pockets as Kagome browsed through various trinkets and classic souvenirs. Thinking of her mother and other friends at home, Kagome bought a few postcards that she would send later that night.

As she was heading towards Inuyasha and the door to leave, a glitter caught Kagome's eye. She made her way to a stand next to the doorway where several necklaces were being displayed. Most of them were fairly nice, but what really caught her attention was one beautiful necklace in particular. It consisted of many white, elongated beads around the cord of it, and a shimmering, swirling pink jewel as the central pendant.

Kagome gazed at it lovingly for a few moments before Inuyasha snatched it from the stand. Kagome looked up, startled, as Inuyasha made his way to the counter and quickly purchased it. Astonished, she asked hesitantly, "Uh...you buying that for...someone...?"

Inuyasha looked at her fairly blankly, though there was also a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Yeah..." he said as if it were obvious. "What, you thought _I_ was gonna wear it...?"

"Oh, well...of course not," Kagome said, flustered. "I just thought maybe...I dunno... Um...who...exactly...did you buy it for...?"

Inuyasha gave her a strange look. "You, of course. Who else? I mean, you were just standing there ogling it... You would have probably never have bought it since you were shopping for your 'family and friends' and then you would have been whining and complaining to me about it for the rest of the day. So I bought it for you. You want it or what?"

Kagome grew flustered. "Oh...! Um, of course!" She gave Inuyasha a beaming smile. "Thanks so much, Inuyasha! Wow...no one's ever...well...it's so...thank you!" Launching herself at Inuyasha, Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug.

A rosy hue quickly sprung to Inuyasha's cheeks as he hesitated in Kagome's grasp. To cover his embarrassment, he backed away slightly; enough to take up the newly purchased necklace and slip it around her neck. He had to return her hug in order to clasp the necklace at the back of her neck and for moment, each of them caught their breath. Kagome because she could feel Inuyasha's warm breath exhaling softly on her neck and Inuyasha because of his close proximity to Kagome; a girl for which he was beginning to develop feelings he'd never experienced before.

"Um...there you go..." Inuyasha said with a gulp as he finally managed to clasp the necklace with his shaking hands. Leaning back slightly, he let his hands fall down from Kagome's neck just as she lifted her face slightly, her eyes locking gazes with his. Inuyasha swallowed nervously as he froze and his hands stopped their descent by lightly resting on either side of Kagome's waist. As he gazed into her warm brown eyes, he flickered between uncertainty of the situation and wistfulness of what could be.

Kagome, meanwhile, was having just as difficult a time. With her hands resting softly on Inuyasha's chest and his golden eyes focused on her brown ones, she felt her heartbeat quicken. Of course, her racing heart reminded her of her dream earlier that morning that, with a jolt, she realized was eerily similar to the situation she was in at the moment. Well...save for the loin cloth and the dog ears... But, their position was the same...which he...? Would he...? Would she...? Would they? Would-

Her thoughts were cut off when Inuyasha's head dipped slightly; uncertainly. Kagome's brain completely stopped working as she leaned up a fraction of an inch, communicating her wishes silently with Inuyasha. As the two slowly drew closer to one another...

"Hey! You kids gonna buy anything else or what?" the voice of the man behind the counter cut in.

Inuyasha and Kagome sprung apart as if they'd been severely burned. They didn't spare a glance for one another as they began uncontrollably stuttering.

"Uh..."

"Um..."

"I...we..."

"Well..."

"Eh heh..."

"I don't..."

"Well...?" the man asked expectantly.

"Um, no; bye!" Inuyasha said quickly, frantically escaping the confines of the shop.

"Yeah; thanks, bye!" Kagome said as she ran after Inuyasha, refusing to think about what had just happened between them.

..:V:..

Kouga grinned as he sauntered down the snowy street, Ayame by his side. The thought of her herself was enough to make him grin as he thought about all the times they'd shared in the past week of being together. He was really growing attached to his pretend girlfriend and he had her to thank for numerous good things. She had done what no one else was capable of: cured his immense fear of snoopy, nosey, no-good reporters. And it had been by the exact opposite method he would have ever thought. When his natural instinct had been to run away, she had shown him that the best way to hide was right out in the open. By taking her on as his make-believe girlfriend, they had been able to lead the reporters on and play a game all their own.

Kouga thought about the elaborated stories they'd led the public to believe, and all the little pranks they'd pulled off together. Through their imaginary bond, he felt that a real bond had formed and he found himself thinking of the girl beside him in a way that he had thought of no other. He was feeling fairly happy at that moment in time and hardly anything could spoil his mood. Trying to seem inconspicuous, Kouga carefully slung an arm around Ayame's shoulders, making sure to avoid making eye contact the whole time.

Ayame giggled at his antics and snuggled in a bit closer to him, enjoying the proximity of their bodies. The two of them forgot about the stores they had been glancing into for the moment and just dwelled on the close company they shared. They were convinced nothing could ruin the moment. Nothing...

"Kouga! Are you enjoying a day on the town with your new girlfriend?"

"This must be the 'Ayame' you spoke of before!"

"Kouga, do you have anything to say to your fans about your race tomorrow?"

...Well, except maybe that.

"Uhh..." Kouga and Ayame blinked as if they were deers caught in headlights.

"Are you enjoying your outing?" one reporter asked, pushing his wire-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Yes. Yes, we are," Kouga said, regaining his composure and determined to face the reporters confidently.

"Are you prepared for your race tomorrow?"

"I'd say so...I've been training a lot lately, and I'm really confident in my skills," Kouga responded cooly.

"Is your relationship genuine?" a voice piped up from the back of the reporter group.

Kouga froze. "Say what...?"

"Is your relationship with Miss Ayame here indeed genuine?" the reporter asked again, squirming his way to the front of the small crowd. He had jaggedly cropped brown hair and greedy brown eyes. His hand tightly gripped a pen that hovered ominously over a pad of paper he was holding with his other hand.

Kouga almost panicked, but managed to just barely keep his reaction under control. "Um...erm... Whatever would lead you to believe otherwise...?" he asked hesitantly.

The reporter raised a greasy eyebrow. "Well...Mr. Haruko...you have never really...proven...your relationship with Miss Ayame here..."

"...Proven...?" Kouga asked uncertainly.

"Well...you haven't kissed her or anything, now have you?" the reporter demanded matter-of-factly.

Kouga and Ayame stared at him stupefied for a moment before glancing at one another and then trying to regain their dignity. "Hmph...what would you know?" Kouga asked stubbornly, crossing his arms. "As a matter of fact, we've kissed lots of times!"

At this proclamation, Ayame felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Since Kouga had just blurted out that little exclamation, she figured that could just nicely go on their way...dragging their dignity behind in crumbling ruins...

But no. Of course not. Nothing could _ever_ be that easy.

"Have you...?" another reporter took up the uncomfortable questioning. "We've seen no evidence of it..."

Kouga gaped at them. "What is _with_ you freaks? Do you watch everything I do or something...?"

The small crowd looked at him expectantly.

"Oh, yeah..." Kouga said, deflating. "Stupid question... But...I mean, come on! We, uh...always kiss in private. Jeez, do you really think I'm going to kiss her in front of you guys?!"

Another expectant silence ensued.

"Oookay..." Kouga exhaled loudly. "Another stupid question... Wow...you guys really are sick, aren't you? I would _never_ kiss Ayame in public; in front of all of you! How could you even consider that I'd want to kiss her when I would know that immediately after, scores of photos would be taken, scandalous articles would be written and false rumours would be spread?!"

Ayame knew why Kouga was yelling everything he was, but she could help but feel a little bit of a twist in her gut hearing him say he would never consider kissing her... She tried to tell herself that she was being silly and that she should take consolation from his arm that was still draped around her shoulders, but there was a nagging, illogical feeling of hurt somewhere deep inside of her.

"...Why don't you kiss her now to prove all of us wrong?" the original snoopy reporter was saying.

Kouga shifted nervously. "Uhh...okay...I think question period is over; now! Let's move it!" he yelled, letting his arm dropped from her shoulders, only to grasp tightly onto her hand. Quick as lightening, he spun in the opposite direction and took off like a bullet, dragging Ayame behind him.

"Holy cra-a-a-p!" Ayame cried as she stumbled along, trying to match paces with Kouga. "Warn me next time you do that, would ya?!"

"Sorry! No time!" Kouga called back as he noticed the reporters took up the chase. "Turn!"

Ayame frantically turned to the right, desperate to let her inertia keep propelling her forwards as Kouga turned too quickly and managed to tear her arm off. "What the...!" Ayame exclaimed.

"No time for that!" Kouga called back. "It's called running away and it's something you need to work on!"

"I see you've perfected the technique..." Ayame muttered as she finally caught up with Kouga and ran side by side with him. They ran from the reporters for the better part of ten minutes before finally ducking in an alleyway and watching the small group rush past the opening a few moments later.

"Whoo..." Kouga said, breathing hard. "Note to self: never trust you can have a normal interview with reporters that are out to ruin your life."

"Yeah, really," Ayame scoffed.

"I mean, honestly! Who do they think they are?!" Kouga continued, beginning to rant. "Jeez! Kiss you in public?! Are they crazy?!"

Ayame attempted to smile. "Apparently..." she said with a hollow laugh.

"I would never _dream_ of doing anything like that!"

"No...never..."

"Why would I _ever_ kiss you in public-"

"Stupid idea, really..." Ayame said, her heart feeling like it was slowly being crushed.

"-When I would _much_ rather kiss you in private...?"

"Huh?!" Ayame's head shot up so fast it almost collided with Kouga's, whose was hovering right over her own.

Kouga smirked and threw all thoughts of consequences or rejections out the window as he leaned forward quickly and softly pressed his lips against those belonging to the startled girl in front of him.

Ayame's thoughts stopped in their tracks. Was he...? Did he just...? Was this actually...? Wait a minute! She was just standing there like a dead chicken...well, not technically, since she didn't think dead chickens stood... But still! 'Respond, dammit! Respond!' she screamed at herself mentally.

Just as Kouga thought he'd made the biggest fool of himself he could possibly have made, and started to pull back from the rejected kiss, Ayame leaned in closer and pressed her lips back firmly against his.

Surprised but happy, Kouga grinned against Ayame's mouth as he tried to contain his joy of her accepting him. Ayame responded by deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around his neck as she felt his snake around her waist.

When they finally broke away, they stepped back slightly, but enough as lose contact with each other. Flustered, they gazed at one another, surprisingly keeping eye contact the whole time.

"You know..." Kouga said, grinning out of one side of his mouth. "...I've wanted to do that for a long time now..."

Ayame's eyes danced as she smiled back at him. "You could've gotten away with it any time..." she informed him coyly.

"Hmm..." Kouga said thoughtfully while raising an eyebrow playfully. Before Ayame could react, he quickly kissed her again, pulling back before she could even properly respond.

"Hey!" Ayame said jokingly, punching him on the arm. "You're taking advantage of my naive innocence!"

Kouga snorted. "Innocence my ass..."

Ayame laughed.

"Say, Ayame...?" Kouga began.

"Yeah?" Ayame responded.

"How about being my _real_ girlfriend from now on...?" Kouga asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you asking me out?" Ayame asked bluntly, but excitedly.

"Yes...I believe I am..." Kouga mused, a smile playing on his lips.

"Well...this is a tough one..." Ayame began as if she were really thinking hard. "You're going to have to let me think about it..."

Kouga stared at her incredulously.

Catching his expression, Ayame laughed and said, "Of course I'll go out with you, you dolt! What do you think that kiss just was?"

"Uhh...lip exercises...?" Kouga joked, playing dumb.

Ayame smacked her forehead as if in exasperation, though she was smiling. "Well, fine then. I will go out with you, if only because I think my lips need to work out more often," she said with a wink.

"I think I can help you there," Kouga said earnestly. "I'm a very good lip trainer."

"Good then," Ayame said, composed. "We've got a deal."

"I'd say so."

"Excellent."

"Mmhmm..."

"Yup..."

"So..."

"Hmm..."

"Uhh...ready to go?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Onwards, then. To...elsewhere..." Kouga said, keeping one arm around Ayame's waist as they walked out of the alley.

Ayame took one last glance at the alleyway where she shared her first kiss and had gotten her very first boyfriend; the only boyfriend she would ever want. She would always fondly remember that dim, secluded alley as the glorious place that-

Hmm...fondly remembering a dim, secluded alleyway? That wasn't healthy thinking, was it? Maybe she'd have to rethink the phrasing, but one thing was for sure: she'd never forget this time or place as long as she lived.

..:V:..

A/N Aww...wasn't that just so...-wipes tear from eye-...touching and moving and sappy and wondrous and beautiful and all around great? Wow...it sounds like it's the end of the story or something. Yes, that's right; go home, folks! Show's over!

Nah...I'm just kidding you...there'll be more to come... Otherwise, I'll be slaughtered mercilessly by all the Inu/Kag fans out there who are in the process of sharpening their big rusty pitch forks because I gave them such a horrible teaser up there... Wait a minute; they're gonna slaughter me anyways! Oh, well...if they do, they'll never get the chapter where they _really_ kiss! -nudge, nudge, hint, hint, wink, wink- Mwuahahaha, I'm so devious and jacked up on adrenaline...

Yes, that's right. I have stayed up until 3:47am to bring you this choked-with-fluff chapter. And I have been working on it on and off all week... So I hope you're all happy and you forgive me for the constant delays I now experience between chapters...

And for all you non-fluff lovers out there who just wanted to smack me the whole way through...ack, whatever. The chapter needed to happen; the stuff in it needed to take place. Get over it; I'm tired... More humourous stuff will happen next chapter...

'Til then, keep in mind that money can't buy happiness. But it sure makes misery easier to live with.


	28. The Way of Girls

Disclaimer: Yes...I...um...–gulp–...I own...eh, heh...you see...I really do...own...Inuyasha... Hey, look at all those lines go crazy! Does this mean I passed the lie detector test?

A/N I see you all liked last chapter! :D Yay! You liking it makes me HAPPY! Lol, don't mind my cranky author notes from last chapter; as you could read, I was tired and had no inhibitions or shame...or politeness, it seems...eh, heh...

Anymewho, oh! I'd like to add in a little note here that I was too brain drained to remember at the end of last chapter. I want to thank Casavenna for helping me come up with the Shikon necklace idea! It was a great idea and I think she deserves a round of applause! –claps enthusiastically–

Am I going to the Inuyasha movie, ChAnDrA16? Hmm...well...I've already seen it. ;) I saw it a while ago subbed and just recently I've seen it dubbed on DVD! Oh, and YTV _did_ air Inuyasha over the summer where I live... And to answer your last question...if I did take that line, I was not aware of it... Is it really a line on the show? If so, I guess my subconscious memory is better than I thought...

Oh, and a big congratulations to KagomeHigurashi66 for being my _eight hundredth_ reviewer! They're screwing with my reviews, but trust me; I have ten more than they're showing I have) –big, big smile– Thank you so much! You've been with me ever since chapter one, haven't you? THANK YOU!!!

Thank you all! I LOVED all your reviews from last chapter and I'm so glad you liked the chapter so much! To show my appreciation, here's the next much-asked-for chapter!

..:V:..

"Where are they?" Sango asked, checking her watch and tapping her foot impatiently.

Miroku shrugged. "We never really _did_ agree on a meeting place... Maybe they don't know where we're waiting for them?"

"Lame excuse," Sango said jokingly. "I mean, why don't they just read our minds? Jeez...some people..."

Miroku and Sango chuckled for a few moments before they saw Inuyasha round a corner, see them and run up to them, Kagome hot on his heels.

"Um...practising for cross-country...?" Miroku hazarded a guess.

Inuyasha stole a glance at the red-faced girl beside him before coughing loudly and looking abruptly away. "Uh...yeah... We were having a race...that's it..."

Miroku and Sango shared a sceptical look. "You stick to that theory if it makes you happy..." Sango said. "And meanwhile, we'll assume the worst."

A sly, knowing grin slowly started to spread across Miroku's face. Sango caught sight of it and quickly smacked him upside the head. "Okay, when I said worst, I didn't mean whatever popped into your head! Shift your thoughts into what you think of as more or less innocent and you may catch my meaning..."

"Keh!" Inuyasha exclaimed loudly. "Whatever you two are thinkin', it ain't true! We were just...uh...you see..."

"Well...what he's trying to say is...um..." Kagome stuttered.

"Hey, guys!"

The four friends turned to see Kouga and Ayame saunter up to them, huge smiles upon their faces and one of each other's arms wrapped around their waists.

"Something tells us we missed something..." Sango said slyly. Ayame's response was to only give her a brighter smile.

Kagome gasped all of a sudden and fixed her red-headed friend with an incredulous stare. "You didn't...!"

Ayame blushed furiously through her smile and gave a barely perceptible nod.

Sango and Kagome let out cheers and gave each other high fives before running to their friend and crushing her in a hug.

Inuyasha stood looking on blankly. "........I got nothing..." he said dumbly.

Miroku stepped over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Let me help you out here, Inuyasha, buddy. You see, knowing the female mind, I naturally can interpret all their reactions and–"

Inuyasha cut him off by raising a hand. "Miroku...don't even _try_ to convince me you know the female mind. I think the reappearing red hand prints on your face is proof enough of how much you know of it."

By this time, Kagome and Sango were hugging and congratulating Kouga, Ayame still smiling at his side. Once they'd mauled him enough, Kagome came skipping back to Inuyasha and asked, "Isn't this great, Inuyasha?!"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Once you tell me what the heck is going on, I might be able to tell you."

Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Duh! Kouga and Ayame are going out for real now! This is so awesome, don't you think?!"

Inuyasha blinked. "How the heck was I suppose to figure that out?! How the heck did you?!"

"Oh, please, Inuyasha. It was so obvious!" Kagome said, as if he were dense. "How could you have missed it?"

"Very easily, apparently..." Inuyasha muttered.

"Whatever," Kagome brushed the matter aside. "But now that you know, aren't you happy for them?"

"Uhh...I guess I'm happy for Kouga, but I don't think I'm so happy for Ayame... I mean, the poor girl's stuck with _Kouga_ now... I pity her, actually..." Inuyasha said tragically before he was whacked in the head by Kouga himself.

"Shut up, mutt face," Kouga said, but the sting was taken out of it by the grin that still tugged on his lips.

Inuyasha surprisingly grinned as well and clapped his friend on the back. "Congrats, man. Just make sure not to make her run away screaming too soon..."

"I think I can manage..." Kouga said in a wry voice.

"Hey, everybody!" Sango raised her voice to be heard. "As great as this recent event is, if we don't get a move on, we'll end up going out tonight naked! Let's do some shopping!"

"I could go for that," Ayame agreed happily while all three boys let out a groan.

"What're we gonna do while you shop?" Inuyasha complained.

".........uh......."

"........umm...."

"............Emotional support...?" Sango finally ventured. The three boys rolled their eyes but started to follow the girls anyways.

The group wandered down a few streets for a good fifteen minutes before the girls finally spotted a somewhat chic store and decided to go in and see what dresses might be available there. The boys followed them in somewhat nervously, feeling completely out of place. Except Miroku, that was. He looked as if he were about to enter heaven.

The girls were greeted by some friendly ladies that worked in the store and they were almost immediately having dresses suggested and handed to them. Soon their arms were full of dresses and they had to escape to the changing rooms to try them all on.

The Kouga and Inuyasha slowly made their way to the back of the store with the girls, trying to ignore all the looks other female shoppers were sending them. Miroku, meanwhile, had lost himself in another aisle; looking at what, the rest of the group was unsure.

The girls, in separate stalls, started talking to each other about the outfits they were trying on. "Oh, this one looks kind of pretty..." Sango said as she eyed one dress. "I'll just slip it on...there we go...and–ahh! What the–?! Since when was my neckline down to my navel?! I must have missed that memo... Well, this one's certainly going back on the rack...damn cleavage Nazis..."

"Oooh, it's shiiiiiiny...." Kagome purred, reaching for a shimmering silver dress. "Let's see... Ack! So...tight! You'd have to be a stick to wear this! And then it wouldn't be attractive at all... Man, how could they do this to me?! I wanted the shiny!"

"We don't always get what we want," Ayame reprimanded her friend jokingly. "I mean, sometimes you have to discipline yourself and–oh! Sparkles!"

Kagome giggled. "_I_ need discipline...?"

But Ayame wasn't paying attention to anything but the dress she was starting to try on. "Gimme! ...Eek! I thought it was going to be more of a reddish colour! There's no way I'm going to a banquet in a tacky, bright orange, sparkly dress!"

Everybody winced at this; even the two boys waiting outside the change rooms. Just then, Miroku sidled up, a mass of clothes slung over his arm.

"Sango, dear; I think I have found the perfect garments for you to choose from! Any one of them would be perfect to wear on our date!" he chirped happily, passing them over the top of the changing room door.

Little more than ten seconds passed before Sango burst out in the last dress she had tried on before Miroku's arrival. Her face was completely red and she held up two of Miroku's chosen items for the others to observe. Both were quite skimpy and Kouga and Inuyasha coughed loudly before quickly taking a step back from the fuming girl.

"Miroku...what...are...these...?!" Sango ground out between clenched teeth. "Which one were you hoping I'd wear more; the one that is practically see-through except for a few select spots, or the one where the lack of clothing outweighs the amount of clothing?!"

"My, my, Sango; such a temper. They were only suggestions," Miroku said innocently, though there was a smile playing on his lips.

Realizing the boy had been playing a joke on her the entire time, Sango threw the offending articles of clothing at him in exasperation. "You're impossible!" she sighed, storming back into her changing stall.

"I try," Miroku said whimsically, putting a hand to his heart.

"Idgit..." Inuyasha muttered.

"Inuyasha, what are you wearing to the banquet?" Kagome piped up from her stall.

"Uhh...clothes...?" he responded blankly.

"Could you be a _wee_ bit more specific?" Kagome asked with a sigh.

"Uhh...pants...and a shirt...?" Inuyasha tried again.

Kagome made an exasperated noise in her throat. "Colours, Inuyasha! Colours! What colours are you wearing!?"

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Inuyasha said, irritated.

"I didn't think I _had_ to..." Kagome muttered.

"Black pants and a dark red shirt. Happy now?" Inuyasha retorted.

"Ecstatic," Kagome chirped.

"What's the big deal, anyway?" Inuyasha asked. "Gonna write an article on it or something?"

"Don't be silly, Inuyasha," Kagome said primly. "But you'll find out...all in good time..."

Miroku approached Sango's changing room door. "Oh, Sango, do you perchance require a little assistance changing...?" he asked in a suggestive tone.

A shoe promptly flew over the stall door and thunked Miroku on the head.

"...I think you should take that as a no..." Kouga suggested helpfully.

"Ooooh!" Ayame squealed in annoyance. "I've narrowed it down to two dresses, but I can't decide which one I want!"

"......You do realize there's _two_ banquets, right...?" Inuyasha asked.

"Oh! That's right!" Ayame said happily. "Score! I can get both! Yay, I'm done then!" A few moments later, she emerged in her regular clothing, and with a multitude of dresses slung over her arms. She then headed for the cash register with Kouga at her side.

"Are you wearing a red shirt to _both_ banquets, Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired.

Inuyasha looked at her stall door in confusion. "What else would I wear...?"

Kagome sighed. "Never mind. Forget I asked."

Inuyasha shrugged and wandered back into the main section of the store.

Assuming Miroku had gone with him, Sango called to Kagome, "Hey, can you come out for a minute and zip up this dress for me? I can't reach!"

"Sure; just give me a sec," Kagome responded.

Sango exited her changing stall and loitered in front of it, her back to the direction Kagome's stall was in. A few moments later, she felt hands grasp the fabric and the zipper and do up the troublesome dress.

"Oh, thanks, Kagome," Sango said, starting to turn around. "I was just–ahhh!!!"

Sango whirled completely around to see that Miroku was the one behind her, doing up her oufit. He must have seen her entire exposed back! "Pervert!" she screeched, slapping him hard across the cheek. Vaguely, she noticed Kagome was peeking out of her changing stall and was snickering into her hand.

Miroku rubbed his raw cheek with his hand. "Ow... Sango, I was just doing you a favour! I mean, your back was showing to anyone who might have happened to walk by! And while I do admire your glorious back so very much, I would hate for you to become the victim of embarrassment when a complete stranger might have chanced upon the sight! My intentions were honourable, I swear!"

Sango gave him a highly suspicious glare before grudgingly conceding, "Fine. But warn me next time you pull a stunt like that, okay? Sheesh, you scared me half to death!"

"So sorry, Sango," Miroku apologized earnestly. "There will be no more scaring of you half to death in the future..."

"Glad to hear it," Sango said dryly. She then turned and walked back into her stall once more.

Discreetly to Kagome, Miroku whispered excitedly, "She said there'd be a next time, didn't she?"

Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes, closing her stall door. "Oh, Miroku..."

Once Sango and Kagome had decided on two dresses each, they exited the tiny changing rooms and headed for the counter. Quickly paying for their somewhat expensive purchases with their parents' credit cards, they grabbed the others and exited the stores. Somewhere in the middle of it all, the boys ended up carrying all of the girls' bags. Inuyasha was about to speak up about it, but Miroku put a hand on his shoulder and sagely shook his head no. Inuyasha's jaw snapped shut as he pouted sullenly.

"Ahhhh, what should we do know, guys?" Ayame asked, twirling around in the snowy street.

"Oooh, I need hair stuff!" Kagome spoke up.

"Hair stuff...?" Kouga asked with an eyebrow raised.

"You know!" Kagome said. "Hair...stuff! Like...clips and accessories and...stuff!!"

"Ah, of course," Inuyasha said as if he completely understood. "The universal category of 'stuff'."

Sango nodded earnestly. "Uh huh!"

"Alright, then..." Kouga sighed. "I guess hair...stuff shopping it is..."

The three girls cheered and dragged the boys once along with them as they inspected various stores. "Hey, look!" Sango exclaimed, pointing at a particular store. "Costume shop! Let's go!"

Once inside the store, the group split up and wandered aimlessly through the racks, looking at various articles here and there.

"Hey, Miroku!" Kagome spoke up, beckoning the boy over to her. "Did you need another stylish feather boa...?" Snickering, she held up another sparkly feather boa, except this time it was pink.

Miroku flushed slightly before choking out, "Somehow, I think I'll pass..."

Kagome pouted. "Hmm...wonder how come...?"

"Gee, that's a tough one..." Inuyasha said wryly, coming up to them and holding a headband with horns on it in his hand. He quickly placed it on Kagome's head and stepped back to admire his handiwork. "So suiting..." he said, chuckling.

Kagome stuck out her tongue and pulled a cheap headband with white animal ears on it off of a shelf. She deftly placed it over Inuyasha's head before he could react and then smirked. "There ya go! _So suiting_..." she added mockingly.

Inuyasha gave her a flat look. "You're never going to live this ear thing down, are you?"

"Nope!" Kagome said cheerfully. "Especially not after–" she cut off a gasp before she could utter a word of her bizarre dream to him.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Not after what...?"

Kagome's eyes grew shifty. "Uhhh...nothing... Nothing at all. I'm gonna...go over there now..." Kagome vaguely pointed to her left and quickly scooted in that direction. Unfortunately for her, Inuyasha followed her.

"Not after what, Kagome? It has to be _something_ or you wouldn't have brought it up in the first place," Inuyasha said cockily.

Kagome racked her brains for a way to explain herself. Half truths were okay, right?

She coughed. "Well, you see... I just kinda had a dream... And in it you had dog ears! Yup! That's it! That's all that happened!" Under Inuyasha's suspicious look, Kagome quickly became flustered. "Yeah! It was you and adorable dogs ears! Adorable, cute ears! Adorable, cute you! I mean–ahhh!" Kagome smacked her crimson cheeks a couple times as if to beat out her embarrassment.

Miroku watched in amusement as red sprang to Inuyasha's cheeks at Kagome's statements. "Ahhh...young love..." he sighed blissfully.

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched in anger, and he clobbered his friend over the head. "Shut up, Miroku..." he muttered.

"Are we having relationship problems over here?" Sango asked coyly as she walked up to them.

As Inuyasha let out a low growl, Kagome retorted, "Should you be talking, Sango?" Her point was soon proved as Miroku's hand reached out and grasped Sango's behind. She let out a yelp and was quick to slap him, however.

"Lovers' spats going on between you guys?" Ayame asked knowingly as she and Kouga sauntered up together.

"Could someone _please_ tell me why you all think we are a couple?!" Inuyasha asked vehemently, indicating himself and Kagome.

Ayame shrugged. "I think the real question here is why don't you?"

"Hmph!" Inuyasha retorted intelligently, crossing his arms. The others laughed at his antics, except Kagome who was still quite red in the face.

The group soon broke up and wandered around the store looking for other interesting costume parts. Kagome was delighted to also discover that the store sold little hair accessories and was quick to purchase what she was looking for.

"Hey, Kouga!" Inuyasha called to his friend. "Try this on!" He threw a mask at Kouga.

The other boy caught the mask out of the air and slipped it over his head. The mask was a face with pale, greenish skin clinging to the skull and black holes for eyes. The nose was comprised of two slits and the mouth was full of long, sharp, ferocious-looking fangs. Inuyasha studied Kouga thoughtfully before saying, "It's minor, but I _do_ think I see an improvement!"

Kouga snorted behind his mask and spied a pink dress hanging on the rack beside him. Grabbing it, he chucked it at Inuyasha. "Hey, dog turd; try that on, and you might gain some masculinity!"

Miroku snickered as he watched them, but his expression soon slipped as Ayame wrapped the pink sparkly feather boa around his neck from behind. "Beautiful!" she exclaimed, giggling.

Miroku was quick to recover as he smirked and flipped the boa over his shoulder. "But of course!" he proclaimed in a dignified, sophisticated voice.

After the group of friends had goofed off for a good quarter of an hour, they decided they had better stop causing havoc before the ticked off-looking manager took matters into his own hands. They laughingly wandered down the chilly street, splitting up only to recover the separated cars. Then they all drove to a local restaurant to enjoy a very late lunch before heading back to the ski resort and their separate condominiums. They would have spent more time all together, but the girls insisted that they needed to prepare for the banquet, and so the boys went grumbling off to their own condo, wondering why the heck the girls needed close to four hours to slip on some clothes and brush their hair.

Meanwhile, Ayame and Sango were rushing around, grabbing various hair stuffs and make up kits. Kagome was about to help them, but felt that first she should ready the postcards she'd bought earlier that day for her family and friends back home. She sat down at the coffee table in the main room and began to write them out. She soon began to get somewhat sleepy, however, due to her rude awakening so early that morning. Her eyelids began to droop and soon she was resting her head in her arms on the coffee table as she drifted off into dream land.

She was dressed in the most glamourous dress she could ever imagine. It was as if it were straight from a dream; a shimmering, silver dress whose upper half hugged her form snugly but comfortably. The straps were just off the shoulders and from the waist down, the dress flowed freely, swirling at her every movement.

Kagome smiled brilliantly and turned to see Inuyasha standing in front of her, this time fully clothed, and giving her a lazy smirk that made butterflies flitter in her stomach. He held out his arm for her and she giggled before running up to them and placing her arm through his. Together they turned and went through a pair of large, glamourous double doors into a large ball room filled with elegantly dressed, dancing couples. Soft musical strains reached their ears and if possible, Kagome's smile widened. Everything was perfect about this moment; everything!

"Hello, Inuyasha. Glad you could make it..."

A shiver went down Kagome's spine at the sound of a familiar voice. Slowly, she and Inuyasha turned to see Naraku standing before them. His long, silky hair flowed down his back and his red eyes burned as they regarded the pair in front of them. He was wearing a black suit jacket over a white pressed shirt and a classy black tie. As Kagome's eyes travelled downwards, she stifled a cry and shuddered.

It was like from a horror film...

Naraku was wearing no pants. Instead, he wore that tiny black speedo Kagome remembered oh so well.

"Ahhh!" Kagome screamed in revulsion, spinning around to face Inuyasha instead of that horrid sight.

But, right in front of her eyes, Inuyasha's silver hair faded into midnight black and became wavy. His features blurred and changed, along with his clothes. In complete horror, Kagome watched as Inuyasha turned into another Naraku in a speedo! But this time he didn't even half the top half of the costume; he looked just like he did at the pool! NOOO!!! Where'd her Inuyasha go?! How could he turn into....THAT!!!?!

Kagome made a mad dash for the other people in the ballroom, seeking immense solace. But one by one, they all started changing, just like Inuyasha.

And they all turned into the same person. All wearing the same thing.

Kagome whimpered and frantically looked back and forth as all the speedo-clad Narakus surrounded her and began advancing on her, their arms outstretched as if seeking a hug.

They were closing in, there was no escape. The original Naraku, still wearing his jacket, shirt, and tie, came forward slightly, gave her a perverse grin and said, "C'mon, Kagome. Give us a hug!"

Kagome screamed her head off and woke up with a start. She didn't cease her screaming even when Ayame and Sango came rushing down from upstairs.

"Kagome! What's wrong?!"

"What happened?!"

Kagome's screams died down until she was panting profusely and shuddering uncontrollably. "Oh, god... The horror...the _horror_..."

Ayame sat down worriedly beside her friend and took her by the shoulders. "Kagome, what's wrong? Tell us!"

"Horrible..._terrible_ nightmare..." was all Kagome was able to get out between whimpers.

Sango raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Just a bad dream? That's what you're screaming your head off for?"

Kagome raised her head and fixed Sango with terrified eyes. "No...no...you don't understand... It was so much more than just a 'bad dream'..._so much more_..."

"Uh...you wanna tell us about it?" Ayame asked.

Kagome regarded her two best friends and something akin to bravery flashed in her eyes. "You guys are great friends and great people... I'm going to spare you from hearing my horrible, horrible dream... I'll...I'll tough this out alone..."

"Was it that traumatizing?" Ayame asked in concern.

Kagome rose, shuffling towards the stairs, her head bowed. "You have no idea...you have absolutely no idea..."

Sango and Ayame watched her go, twin puzzled expressions on their faces. "You know...she's got me all curious now...but if it's so horrifying she won't even share it with us...maybe she's right and we're better off not knowing..." Sango said slowly. Ayame nodded in agreement.

After a few moments of silence, they glanced at each other and exclaimed, "We still have to finish getting ready!" With that, they dashed back upstairs and to their respective rooms.

A few hours later, Kagome clipped in her second earring to complete her outfit. She was wearing a floor length scarlet gown that had thick straps going over her shoulders and making a square neckline. The gown was fit to her figure, but free enough to allow her proper movement. Her hair was done up in an elegant masses of curls and two small silver hoops dangled from her earlobes. Around her neck was the necklace Inuyasha had bought for her earlier that day and Kagome blushed while remembering the incident surrounding it.

As Kagome exited her room, she met up with Sango and Ayame, each clad in black and deep red dresses respectively. They looked gorgeous, Sango with her hair drawn back into a french braid, and Ayame with her hair brushed and let down to bounce around her shoulders.

The three girls smiled at each other. They were ready.

Now all they needed were the guys...

...Who were late.

Big surprise.

..:V:..

A/N There we go! Hope you guys had fun with this chapter; I know I had fun making total fun of how girls sometimes make no sense and make guys do the _weirdest_ things. I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm a girl...but sometimes even _I_ don't understand why my gender does half the things it does...

Anyways, join me next time for the grand banquet, and Miroku and Sango's big date! It shall be a very...amusing...chapter. ;) Talk to ya later, and get this: Déjà Moo – the feeling you've heard this bull before.


	29. A Night of Mayhem

Disclaimer: I've got two words for you. I wish.

A/N Heyla, everybody! Sorry for the delay, guys. Again. I know you've been anxious for this chapter, and I've been trying my best. I have silly school and I've also been trying to get the other chapters for my other fics written. But anyways, this amazingly awesome chapter is here now for you to enjoy, so go nuts!

NordicaVB, I'm sorry, but I wasn't aware that quote, "The horror...the horror..." came from anything, much less a book. Hmm...maybe some of the other readers can help you out. Anybody got any idea?

Oh, and the comment Inuyasha made about there being nothing between him and Kagome wasn't supposed to be harsh at all. Kagome was avidly agreeing with him when he said it. She didn't want her friends to get the "wrong idea". (I think Kagome and Inuyasha are the ones with the wrong idea, personally)

Khepri, thanks for the suggestion, buuuut...well, one, Kagura's already been mentioned in the story as one of the top female ski racers and two...in this story, if Sesshy hooks up with any chick, I think Rin would be first in line... I have absolutely nothing against Sesshoumaru/Kagura, I actually support it, but I don't think I can make it work in this case. Sorry!

LilInuchick, I don't know whether you've made it this far yet (you did review chapter 3 after all), but thanks for your comments! I'm happy to be able to appeal to a fellow skier! Do you race?

And lastly, the question of have I ever considered writing a novel, from Double E. Yes, indeed I have and I'm actually in the middle of writing an original/non fanfic story. Well, I was until I started this story... Haven't written anything for it for a while, but I'm not giving up on it! Someday...hopefully...I _might_ be able to get it published...

So...did you all miss my insanely long A/Ns? I felt like responding more this chapter... Anymewho, on with the actual chapter! Heh, heh...this banquet and date shall be VERY amusing...

* * *

"Wonder where they are?" Kagome asked for the tenth time as she wrung her hands nervously.

Sango sighed as she slouched in an armchair. "They'll be here, Kagome. I know you can't wait to see Inuyasha, but try to hold on for a bit longer."

Kagome's eye twitched. "_Thanks_, Sango," she said sarcastically. "If you ever say that again, I won't hesitate to hurt you," she added.

"And Sango," Ayame cut in. "She's not the only one drooling over a certain boy."

Kagome and Sango gave Ayame identical flat looks before glancing at each other. "Okay, how 'bout we get her together?" Sango said conspiratorially to Kagome.

One side of Kagome's mouth turned up in a malicious grin. "Sounds good."

Sango and Kagome began to advance on their friend, but before they could do anything, there was a knock at their door.

Ayame, who had previously been wearing a panicked expression, let out a sigh of relief. "That'll be the boys!" she said in an overly cheerful voice.

"Lucky..." Kagome and Sango muttered, glaring at the ground. They looked up, however, when Ayame bounced over and opened the door to admit the late boys.

And they stayed looking up.

Kouga was the first to enter, clad in black slacks and a navy blue button up shirt. His hair was done up in his usual ponytail, but it looked a bit more groomed. His eyes widened when he saw Ayame in her deep red spaghetti strap dress, modest matching heels, and with her hair lying gently on her shoulders. She was quick to come to him and smile brilliantly, a faint blush across the bridge of her nose at the sight of him.

Once Kouga had fully entered, all of his attention on Ayame, Miroku was the next to make his appearance. He was also garbed in black slacks and a loose, button up shirt, but his shirt was dark purple instead of blue. His hair was done the same way he usually had it and a mischievous grin graced his features as he took in the sight of Sango. She blushed and stood nervously in her black dress that hugged her figure on the top and then hung loosely down to her knees. She wasn't sure what it was, probably the thought that she was about to go on a date with him, but the sight of Miroku made Sango's cheeks glow even brighter than they normally did when she saw him.

Miroku held out an arm for her like a gentleman, and Sango suddenly felt giddy. Excitedly, she came forward and slipped her arm through his.

"Ready for our date, dear Sango?" he asked quietly, his grin still in place.

"You know it," Sango said happily before realizing how she was acting. She cleared her throat. "I mean...er... You better not try anything perverted!"

Miroku chuckled and shuffled out of the way of the doorway with Sango so as to admit the last member of their little party. Inuyasha sauntered casually in, a bored expression on his face and hands in the pockets of his own black slacks. He stopped abruptly, however, when he caught sight of Kagome. He straightened immediately and whipped his hands out and to his sides, his expression turning from bored to shock.

"Y-you...you look...that is to say...um..." Inuyasha fumbled over his words as he stared, slack-jawed, at Kagome. Kouga, Ayame, Miroku and Sango all snickered behind their hands as they watched the two.

Kagome wasn't having much more luck than Inuyasha at regaining her composure. Apart from his black pants, Inuyasha was wearing the dark red shirt as promised, and a few of the top buttons had been left undone. Whether it was intentional or because of negligence on his part, which was more likely, it gave Kagome enough of a view for the memory of him at the pool to resurface. Embarrassed at the direction of her thoughts, Kagome forced her eyes to move further up. She noticed that Inuyasha had brushed his silver tresses and had actually left them unbound and flowing freely down his back, instead of his usual low ponytail. She had to say, she _really_ liked the effect.

"And you...er...you look..." Kagome blubbered back.

"Oh, come on, lovebirds," Ayame practically sang as she and Kouga started for the door. "There'll be more time to make goo-goo eyes at one another once we get to this banquet."

Ayame's teasing words seemed to snap Inuyasha and Kagome out of their dazes and Inuyasha muttered a, "Keh!" before sticking his arm out to Kagome and looking stubbornly away.

Kagome smiled and was even thankful as she walked forward and tucked her arm through Inuyasha's since _this_ attitude she knew how to deal with. Now if only her eyes could avoid looking at the bare part of his chest...

"Well, I guess we'll split up here," Miroku said to Inuyasha, Kagome, Kouga and Ayame. "Sango and I have a date to get to!"

Sango raised an eyebrow. "It's not like it's trying to run away or anything..."

"The more time together, the better!" Miroku declared, practically dragging Sango out of the door. "This night's gonna be great! You're gonna love it!"

"Eep! Bye, guys! Have fun!" Sango called as she was pulled out the door and out of sight.

"Bye...!" Ayame called after her. Then she straightened up and smiled at her remaining friends. "Well, then. Shall we go?"

The others nodded and they all shuffled awkwardly out of the door, shutting it behind them. They quickly made their way down the stairs and then outside into the freezing cold.

"Okay..." Kagome said, shivering. "Maybe we should have thought ahead and brought jackets..."

"Keh," Inuyasha dismissed her. "It's not like we're going very far. The banquet's being held inside the main building, which, in case you hadn't noticed, is just over there."

Kagome grumbled a few things under her breath. Out loud, she said, "It doesn't dismiss the fact that while we're going there, we're freezing our butts off! Yeesh..."

Kouga and Ayame took notice of the spat brewing and wisely sped up their pace so as to not be within casualty range.

"Well, what am I supposed to do about the stupid weather?!" Inuyasha demanded. "I can't very well change it and it's not like _I_ brought a jacket that you can sucker me out of!"

Kagome's expression turned indignant. "Sucker you out of...?! Hey, what do you take me for, you–ahhaaack!" Kagome squealed as one of her high heeled shoes stepped unevenly on the chunky snow and she started to fall rapidly sideways. As she braced for impact in the wet snow, which would completely ruin her dress, a strong arm grabbed her around the waist and stopped her descent with a jolt.

Kouga and Ayame had heard the sound and had glanced back in time to see Inuyasha react as fast as lightening to catch the falling Kagome. Kouga smirked. "Guess she's falling for you, Inuyasha!" he called as Ayame sniggered into her hand.

Inuyasha snarled and called back, "Thanks, _Miroku_!"

Kouga smirked again and then turned back around to continue walking with Ayame to their destination.

"Clumsy girl," Inuyasha muttered, scooping his free arm behind Kagome's knees and lifting her up.

"Ack! What're you doing?!" Kagome demanded, clinging to Inuyasha's neck as if she would fall.

"What does it look like?" Inuyasha responded. "If you keep walking in this snow with those heels, you're gonna fall again and then twist your ankle or something. Then who'll I dance with? Jodi? I'd really rather not... So I'm carrying you. You gotta problem with that?" he asked stubbornly.

Kagome was a little surprised, but rather flattered. She had learned that if she wanted to know Inuyasha's true feelings on a subject, she had to only listen to the first part of his answer. After that, he would turn it around in order to make it sound like he was only thinking about himself. So even though he sounded selfish, Kagome smiled and thought only of how Inuyasha was looking out for her well-being.

"What're you smiling about?" Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Kagome sighed happily, leaning her head against his chest.

When they finally reached the main building of the ski resort, Inuyasha set Kagome gently down and once again held out his arm to her. After straightening her dress quickly, Kagome was glad to take the offered arm and together they entered the banquet behind Kouga and Ayame.

..:V:..

"Where are we going, Miroku?" Sango asked as she squirmed nervously in the passenger seat of Miroku's car.

Miroku grinned. "Just you wait. It's a really nice restaurant that I heard some of the other racers talking about. They're supposed to serve really good food and there's a dancing floor as well!"

Sango let out a small smile. "Doesn't sound too bad."

"And here we are!" Miroku said gleefully, pulling into a parking lot outside an inviting-looking restaurant. He quickly alighted from the car and rushed around in order to help Sango.

"I'm not an invalid," she muttered, but accepted his help anyway.

They walked arm in arm up to the restaurant doors and entered excitedly. The first thing they noticed was that it was unusually loud and there were many people already there. A harried waiter rushed past them as they waited to be seated and called quickly, "Be right there! Man, it's never like this!"

"Uh..." Sango said, a little taken aback.

"I'm sure it'll be great, Sango!" Miroku hastened to reassure her. "It's just a little busy right now, but I'm sure it'll die down!"

The previous rushing waiter hurried up to them just then and led them to a nice booth table off to the side of the restaurant. He passed them their menus and rushed off again.

"I heard they serve really good food here!" Miroku raised his voice in order to be heard over the noise.

"Yes, I'm sure they do!" Sango called back. They scanned their menus and quickly decided on their choices of meals for the evening. They had to wait another while longer, however, since all of the waiters were so busy with other customers.

After five or ten minutes, though, their waiter came bustling back to their table. "Rough night?" Miroku questioned politely.

The man, to their surprise, flopped down right next to Miroku and let out a huge sigh. "You wouldn't _believe_ it! We've _never_ been this busy!"

"Uh...too bad you got stuck taking your shift tonight..." Miroku offered, slightly unnerved by the waiter sitting next to him.

"Oh, it's not too bad," the man waved him off. "I mean, at least working takes my mind off my other troubles. I've been trying to quit smoking for a couple years now and right now, I haven't had a cigarette in six weeks! All this work distracts me and hardly gives me a chance to think about lighting up!"

Miroku and Sango managed weak smiles and nodded mechanically at the man, who shortly let out a jovial laugh a few moments later. "My name's Chad, by the way. Nice to meet you folks," he said, holding out a hand.

"Miroku..." the boy said, not sure how to react to the overly friendly waiter.

"Sango..." Sango said hesitantly.

"Good then," the waiter said happily before his expression turned serious once again. "Yeah, so the job's a good fixture in my life right now. It takes my depressing thoughts about how I found out my girlfriend was cheating on me with my roommate away."

"Um..." Miroku tried to find his voice. "That's terrible..."

"Oh, yeah..." Chad said as he placed his elbows on the table and dropped his face into his hands. Without any warning, the man launched into animated conversation, talking about many aspects of his life, whether trivial or personal and Sango and Miroku were forced to sit through it all, growing ever more hungry. Several times, they opened their mouths and tried to just order their food and get him go away, but he seemed determined to tell them, strangers he had just met, his complete life story.

"And my ma's threatening to disown me because I've been working in this restaurant for twenty years and I'm not going anywhere with my life..."

Miroku held up his menu tentatively. "Um...I was wondering if we could just–"

"I mean, I can't completely blame my ma... My dad died when I was two and my sister ran away from home when she was fourteen so she's had a really hard life. I guess I've just been the last straw when it comes to let downs in her life..." Chad sighed and then straightened. "So then folks; what'll be your order? Don't dally now, I'm very busy tonight!"

Miroku and Sango gaped at him incredulously for a moment before hurriedly grabbing their menus and placing their orders. Chad gave them one last smile and a wave before taking their menus and scurrying off to another table.

Miroku offered Sango a weak smile. "Heh, heh...nice man, isn't he?"

Sango's only response was to raise an eyebrow.

..:V:..

"So...boring..." Inuyasha yawned as the last of the speeches finished up, welcoming the skiers and wishing them the best of luck in the competition the next day.

"Tell me about it," Kouga agreed. "Good thing they served the food in the middle of it all so we had _something_ to occupy us."

"Yeah," Inuyasha said with a smirk. "Watching you eat is always entertaining. Especially since you miss your mouth half the time."

"Yeah, right. Whatever mutt-face," Kouga retorted before pausing to wipe some sauce off his cheek.

Kagome and Ayame sighed and shared an exasperated look as they watched the two boys bicker with each other across the table. As soft music began to waft through the large ballroom they were in, the girls looked at their partners expectantly, but the boys didn't seem to notice any difference in the setting and continued to argue.

"Excuse me," a voice spoke up behind Kagome. A chill immediately went up her spine at the oh too familiar voice. With a stiff back, Kagome awkwardly turned to face the evil bane known as Naraku. The long black-haired boy blinked when he noticed Kagome's eyes were closed. "Um...is there something wrong?"

Kagome closed her eyes even tighter and with a painful grimace, she tried to act as if she were behaving perfectly normally. Meanwhile, she didn't dare open her eyes lest the vision in her dream come true.

"Something wrong?!" Inuyasha growled. "How 'bout your ugly mug showing itself here?"

"Ahem," Naraku said, turning his back to Inuyasha and deliberately ignoring him. "I don't believe I was talking to you. I was about to ask this young lady to dance." He indicated Kagome.

At this shocking statement, Ayame, Kouga and Inuyasha gaped at Naraku, while Kagome even dared to crack open an eye in surprise. Seeing Naraku was fully clothed in black slacks and a white dress shirt, complemented by a turquoise bow tie, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and opened her other eye.

Ayame, however, winced and hissed as if something were causing her pain. "Oooh..._tacky_."

Inuyasha snorted. "You think you can win the upcoming tournament, Naraku? Ha! You can't even dress yourself!"

"Says the guy who thinks that as long as he wears red, he's making a fashion statement," Kouga muttered to Ayame, evoking a giggle.

Naraku raised an eyebrow. "As I said, I don't believe I was talking to you. I don't talk to chumps."

"Now that's got to be the insult of the year," Kouga snorted. "I mean, if someone said that to me, I'd be reduced to tears immediately." Ayame started shaking with silent laughter.

Naraku turned and glared at Kouga. "Will you shut up, you pathetic moron?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Kouga said, saluting smartly. Ayame couldn't keep her silence any longer and burst out laughing as Naraku's face went red. To his credit, though, he said nothing and turned back to Kagome as if nothing had interrupted him.

"Will you do me the honour of dancing the next dance with me?" Naraku asked, extending a hand to Kagome. She looked at it and shied away as if he were offering her poison.

"Um...I think I'll pass..." Kagome said hesitantly as Naraku kept extending his hand until it was practically directly under her nose.

"Oh, come now," Naraku pressed genially. "One dance won't kill you."

"With you it will," Kouga muttered as Inuyasha shot up from his seat.

"Listen, _Naraku_, she doesn't want to dance, okay?!" Inuyasha spat. "Just back off and get lost!"

Naraku withdrew his hand and sniffed primly. "You're no fun, Inuyasha. I'll leave...for now."

Inuyasha stood glaring after his rival until Kagome put a hand on his arm and indicated for him to sit back down. "Thanks, Inuyasha, for sticking up for me. What a creep..."

"What a woman..." Kouga said in awe. When the others looked at him, he continued, "What? Am I the only one who's noticed? It's kind of hard to miss..."

"Now that I'm not blinded by indignant rage..." Inuyasha said thoughtfully, "Oh, yes. I _definitely_ see it."

"I...noticed...!" Ayame said through peels of laughter.

Kagome put a finger to her chin as if she were in deep thought. "Now does that make him a horrible disgrace to our gender or yours?" she asked Inuyasha and Kouga.

"Both, I'd say," Kouga said. "Ah, but we're wasting precious time. Ayame?" Kouga stood up and assumed Naraku's previous position, his hand practically up Ayame's nose. "Would you do me the honour of dancing the next with me?"

Trying to get her laughter under control, Ayame thrust her hand in Kouga's palm and stood up stiffly. "I shall grace you with my awesome presence on the dance floor!" she declared. Then the two of them assumed a traditional dancing position and practically marched out to join the other dancing couples.

Kagome giggled. "Maybe there's something in the punch... Kouga seems quite the smart aleck tonight... Hmm...speaking of punch, I'm all out. Phooey..."

"Heh, me too," Inuyasha realized. "I'll go get refills for us."

"Okay!" Kagome said, brightening. "I'll wait right here."

"Be back in a jiff!" Inuyasha said as he picked up their glasses and sauntered off.

After a few moments of fiddling with her napkin, however, Kagome realized she was quite bored. Though, fortunately or unfortunately, her boredom was soon staved off.

"Hmm...seems your 'friends' have abandoned you..."

Kagome spun around so fast, she almost got whiplash. "Naraku?! You're back again?!"

"You see," Naraku said smugly, "I'm very persistent. Now, since there's no one to object, how about that dance?"

"No one to object?! How about me?!" Kagome said frantically, holding up her hands to ward him off. Somehow Naraku didn't get the hint, however, and grabbed one of her hands and dragged her out onto the dance floor. Despite her struggles, he managed to pin her in a dancing embrace and lead her in what looked like a very constipated dance.

Kagome tried kicking Naraku and stepping on his feet several times, but he took it all in stride, smiling jovially and looking like he was having the time of his life.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was just coming back from refilling their drinks when he noticed that Kagome wasn't at the table where he'd left her. He assumed a puzzled expression. Didn't she say she would wait right there?

Inuyasha set the drinks down on the table and scanned the room. He saw numerous couples, including Kouga and Ayame, dancing together on the dance floor and then he suddenly noticed one pair of dancers directly in the centre. No...it couldn't be! Could it?

Inuyasha's hands balled into fists and a growl emitted from the back of his throat. How dare Naraku! He would go tell that guy off once and for all! And with more than just words!

Just as he stepped onto the dance floor while making a beeline for Naraku and Kagome, he was suddenly yanked into someone's arms and swept away into a dance.

Thoroughly startled and somewhat ticked off for his rampage being interrupted, Inuyasha glared down at the girl who had dared to grab him, only to shrink away a moment later. "Ahhhh!" he shrieked. How could this be happening?! How could _she_ be here?! "Jodi?!?!"

..:V:..

"This is taking _forever_!" Sango sighed in exasperation, dropping her chin into her hand.

Miroku laughed nervously. "It's just because they're so busy tonight. I'm sure our food'll get here any minute, Sango... _Any_ minute..."

Sango stared unseeingly at the tabletop for a few more moments before something hit her softly in the back of the head. Looking down behind herself at the seat, she noticed a balled up piece of paper. Suspiciously, she glanced up and saw that at a table not too far away, a group of preteen boys were chuckling and nudging each other while casting quick glances her way.

"Great," Sango muttered, turning back around. "_Just_ what I need."

"I'm sorry, San–" Miroku started, but Sango cut him off.

"Don't worry about, Miroku. It's not your fault that prepubescent boys decided to show up at this restaurant and start jacking off."

"Uh...thanks...I think..." Miroku said hesitantly as another paper ball bounced off the top of Sango's head and landed into his hands. Curious, he un-crumpled it and stared down at the words '_You're hott!_' Miroku crumpled the note up once more as his hand holding the note formed a fist. "Why those little... Not only are they trying to steal my date, but they misspelled hot!" he declared, pumping his fist indignantly in the air.

"Clearly the worst offence imaginable..." Sango said dryly as yet another paper ball landed on their table. Idly, she opened the ball to read '_Will you go out with me?_'. Sango rolled her eyes and tossed it to the side.

"The nerve..." Miroku continued muttering darkly.

"Oh, get over it," Sango told him. "They're barely out of diapers. Trust me, they're no threat to you."

Miroku crossed his arms sullenly and said, "Well...if you say so."

"Uh...h-hey..." a boy's voice spoke up from beside Sango. When she turned around, she noticed it was one of the boys that were throwing the paper balls at her. She raised an eyebrow as all the boys he had left behind at the table started cheering him on and chuckling as if this were the greatest joke in the world.

"Yes?" Sango asked with a wry smile. "Can I help you?"

"Well, baby–" Miroku choked, "how's about you and I get together sometime?" the boy asked cockily, his confidence growing at the sound of his friends' encouragement.

Sango smiled sweetly. "Oh, sure!" Miroku stared at her, agape. "When do you need me to babysit?"

Stupefied, the boy lost his confident composure and looked uncertainly back at his friends who were also at a loss for words. But Sango was just getting started. "You know...I have a brother about your age... Did you want me to arrange a play date or something for you guys? It might be a tad difficult to sort out the details when you're so far apart, but I'll do my best!"

The boy's face was bright red by now and he stuttered out, "I–I have t–to go n–now..." before dashing desperately back to his shocked friends.

Sango brushed her hands together, silently congratulating herself for a job well done. Meanwhile, Miroku was just as shocked as the preteens. "W–wow, Sango... You really told him..."

Sango flashed him a smug smile. "I told you they were no threat. Humiliate them and they'll run away with their tail between their legs..."

"Yes... I recognize the technique from past experiences..." Miroku mused to himself.

Sango's eye twitched. "What was that?!"

Miroku shot a fearful look her way and panicked. "Uh, no! I didn't mean that! It was a joke! Ha, ha! A joke! Please don't kill me...?"

Sango took one look at Miroku who was shielding his head with his arms and let out a sardonic chuckle. "Oh, Miroku... Figures you were a perv even back then..."

Miroku lowered his arms and stared down at the table guiltily and feeling awkward. This wasn't quite how he'd planned their date to go...

"Aaaand here's your order, folks!" their boisterous waiter called as he plunked down plates in front of the couple.

Sango glanced down at her plate as he set it down and then did a double take. Tapping the waiter, who looked like he was about to strike up another conversation with Miroku, on the arm, she asked, "Um...what is that exactly...?"

Chad looked down at her plate where a lump of unrecognizable meat sat with green specks sprinkled on it. "_That_, lady, is our finest dish. Pig's Liver with Basil," the waiter responded with a raised eyebrow.

Sango almost gagged. Didn't Kagome mention something to her earlier about how that was that Hojo guy's favourite food? Disgusting...

"B–but...it said Foie de Cochon avec du Basilic!" she protested, stammering.

"Um, Sango..." Miroku said hesitantly, scratching the back of his head. "Foie de Cochon avec du Basilic is a direct french translation of pig's liver with basil..."

"Really?" Sango asked, floored. "B–but it sounded so cool and good... _This_ wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind..."

"You know...my sister once did that–" the waiter started, but was cut off by a disturbance close by. The three turned to see someone at the table next to them start to choke on a piece of food. He staggered up from his seat as Chad sprung into action. "Don't worry; I'll handle this!"

Chad raced around behind the man and assumed a proper Heimlich Manoeuver position. As Sango and Miroku looked on in horror, the waiter began to perform the manoeuver and after three quick thrusts to the man's abdomen, the piece of food he was choking on came flying out.

The man began to breathe deeply, with Chad patting his back in reassurance. Glad to see he was safe, the couple turned back to their own meals, only to discover that whatever the man had been choking on had flown right into the middle of Sango's meal.

"You know...?" Sango ventured thoughtfully, tilting her head to the side as Miroku dropped his face despairingly into his hands. "As disgusting as this is...it looks better that way..."

* * *

A/N Okay, I'm gonna stop it there for two reasons. One, if I continued, it would be ridiculously long, and two, it would delay this update even further. So I'm cutting this into two parts. I will start working on the second part immediately, so hopefully there won't be much of a delay before the next update. Sound good? I hope so!

So...Kagome's been captured and made to dance with her worst nightmare, Naraku, and Inuyasha's hopes of rescuing her have been trampled on by him getting glomped and made to dance with _his_ worst nightmare...Jodi. Oh, and Kouga and Ayame are off in their own little world. Ignorance _is_ bliss, as they say. (By the way, Naraku's turquoise bow tie was in reference to the turquoise colouring on his baboon pelt - that guy's got the best sense of style, wouldn't you say?)

Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku's date is going horribly wrong in every way... Is there any way to salvage _anything_ from all this?!

You betcha! Don't worry, folks, I have it all planned out...heh, heh, heh... But first the craziness continues (and trust me, it's only just begun) on the next chapter of King of the Hill!

Oh, and thank you to Albino Black Sheep for this lovely quote... Stress: the condition brought on by overriding the body's desire to kick the living daylights out of some jerk who desperately deserves it.


	30. Musical Partners

Disclaimer: Even if I wanted to own him, he's currently in the clutches of Jodi...poor dude... Now here's a question...what's worse; Inuyasha in the clutches of Kikyo...or Jodi?

A/N I'd just like to take a moment to say: ha! Look at the speed of this update! Isn't it the fastest you've seen in a long while? And it's a great chapter too! Just read on to find out!

Minaosu, yes, I completely agree with you. I just hate it when people make characters get made at each other for stupid, little things they could have never hoped to have prevented anyway. And now that you mentioned it, I can see the 'bon-bon' thing too...lol.

Kiala, will Hojo be back? How could he not be?

And _technically_ I now have 900 reviews! Yay! Congrats to brattigal for being my technically 900th reviewer! Oy, I wish they straighten out my review count...–shakes head–

And I'd just like to remind everyone that Kikyo is Inuyasha's _friend_ (nothing more) and the top female ski racer. I mentioned it near the beginning, but I'm reminding you guys now in case you'd forgotten. Now; read on!

..:V:..

"Let go of me, you big oaf!" Kagome protested, squirming against the ever placidly- smiling Naraku.

"Now, now," Naraku said genially. "Don't be like that; I haven't had this much fun since our meeting at the pool!"

Kagome gagged. "You called that fun?! You sicko!"

She tried to stomp on his feet, but he just laughed gaily and said, "Come now; it'd be a shame if my shoes were scuffed up!"

Kagome made an exasperated sound. "Oh, yeah; _horrible_ shame. Can't you let me go already?! I don't want to dance with you! I don't think you even know my name!"

Naraku assumed a thoughtful expression before shrugging carelessly. "No matter, my little Cheese Danish."

Kagome went limp in his arms out of shock. He did NOT just call her his little– "Cheese Danish?! What do you take me for; a pastry?!"

Naraku gave her an eerie grin. "You do look quite delicious... In fact, I could just eat you right up!"

"Gak!" Kagome exclaimed before whimpering and shying away. _Maybe pretending to faint would get me out of this?!_ she thought desperately.

Suddenly she heard, "May I cut in?" before she was forcefully pulled out of Naraku grasp and made to dance with the newcomer. Turning her head slightly, she caught a glimpse of silvery strands of hair and exhaled in relief as she looked up.

"Oh, thank god you got me away from that freak, Inueeeaahh! Sesshoumaru?!" Kagome yelped as she stared incredulously at Inuyasha's brother.

"Ah. Good evening," Sesshoumaru said blandly. "I suppose you were expecting my brother? I think he's a little incapacitated at the moment..."

Kagome twisted to the side to look in the direction Sesshoumaru was indicating with his head, only to see Inuyasha being practically mauled by Jodi. She cringed. "Eeeeehhh... Maybe we should go help him out?"

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "In a moment or two... Seeing my brother in distress doesn't bother me _that_ badly..."

Kagome quirked an eyebrow before a question popped into her head. "How'd you get in here, anyway? I thought this banquet was only for coaches, racers, and their dates..."

Sesshoumaru gave a casual glance from side to side before saying slowly, "I have my...ways..."

"I see... And I assume you brought Rin with you?" Kagome asked.

"But of course," Sesshoumaru. "When have I ever gone anywhere without her?"

..:V:..

"Come on, Inu–waffle! Kiss me!" Jodi proclaimed as she forcefully swung Inuyasha around and pulled herself closer to him.

"Nnnnoooo!!!" Inuyasha protested as he tried to push himself away from her and her puckering lips. "Stay awaaaay! Whatever happened to your restraining order?!"

Jodi smiled with a slightly insane glint to her eyes. "Did you think that just because it's against the law, I would tolerate being separated from you?!"

Inuyasha cast a furtive glance around. "Uh...yeah...I kinda did... Guess I won't be making that mistake again... Maybe I should invest in some pepper spray..."

"You DO love me, don't you, Inuyasha?" Jodi asked whimsically. "And you want us to be together for ever and ever, right?"

"No way in hell," Inuyasha replied promptly.

"Excuse me," a cool voice interrupted them. They turned to see a girl about their age garbed in a white and red patterned gown with white elbow length gloves adorning her arms. Her long black hair was done in a braid that trailed down her back and her brown eyes regarded the pair nonchalantly. "Inuyasha, care to dance?" she asked, holding out a hand.

Inuyasha let out a huge sigh of relief and practically pounced on the girl. "Kikyo, am I glad to see you!"

"B–but–!" Jodi started to protest, but was cut off by Kikyo's intense glare.

"Give him up, fangirl," she said scathingly. "You've had your turn." Without further ado, Kikyo and Inuyasha waltzed as quickly as they could away from the frightening girl.

"Whew," Inuyasha exclaimed, once they were out of earshot of Jodi. "Thanks a lot! I can't _stand_ her; she freaks me out..."

"I thought you got rid of her before," Kikyo said with a slightly questioning tone.

"Yeah..." Inuyasha said. "But she was only in jail for three months and now she's back!"

"Hmm...bummer," Kikyo stated. "Good thing I showed up when I did."

"I'll say," Inuyasha agreed. "Oh, but I was on my way to save Kagome from that creep, Naraku. He forced her to dance with him while I was refilling our drinks. I better get going."

Kikyo gave him a questioning look before realization lit up her eyes a moment later. "Oh, your new 'girlfriend'."

Inuyasha huffed. "What?! She is not! She's just–" Inuyasha cut off when he realized Kikyo was smirking. "You've been reading the tabloids, haven't you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Why not, when they're such a _great_ source of information?" Kikyo said jokingly.

"Well...well...so you know they all lie, right? I mean–"

"Inuyasha," Kikyo said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know they lie; and I feel for you. I mean, if they didn't lie, I really would be in love with Naraku, and that's a concept too frightening for me to consider." She winked.

Inuyasha looked at her, agape. "They didn't...?" As Kikyo pursed her lips, Inuyasha let out a small snort. "They...did?"

Kikyo allowed herself a small smile, "Yes, quite amusing... But judging from your earlier reaction, the stories they made up on you and that girl might not be completely false..."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Hey...what're you saying...?"

Kikyo rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on now. You never were one to admit your feelings openly, were you? But you're too obvious in this case. You really like her, don't you?" she asked, giving him an intense look.

Inuyasha was taken aback. "Wha...?! No, of course no–"

"Oh, look," Kikyo interrupted him. "Seems like she's already been saved from Naraku."

Inuyasha's head spun around so fast, his hair whipped Kikyo in the face. "What? Where?! Who the...Sesshoumaru!! How dare he put his hands on Kagome...!"

Kikyo was hard pressed to keep the knowing smirk from her face at his reaction. "Silly me. I should have known you didn't care about her as anything more than a friend," she said, the innuendo clear in her voice. As Inuyasha looked at her in dismay, she stepped out of his embrace and walked off with a little wave. "See ya tomorrow at the competition, Inuyasha. And good luck with your girlfriend."

"She's not my..." Inuyasha trailed off as Kikyo glanced back at him over one shoulder and raised an eyebrow. "...Oh, whatever..." he grumbled, crossing his arms and turning his head stubbornly to the side.

..:V:..

"Why do you even _serve_ pig's liver with basil?!" Miroku was demanding Chad.

"Well, it really is a delicacy..." Chad said, looking cornered.

"It's okay, Miroku," Sango said, putting a hand on the enraged boy's arm. "I appreciate you sticking up for me, but honestly...I'll get over a little food mix up. And I don't think taking it up with a mere waiter is gonna get us anywhere either..."

"Are you sure?" Miroku asked in a worried day as he sat down again. When she nodded wearily, he continued, "Well, then, do you want to order something else?"

Sango shook her head. "No, it's okay. I wouldn't want to waste anymore of your money. I'm okay, really."

"Any money spent on you wouldn't be wasted," Miroku said earnestly. "But if you insist...at least share my dinner with me." He pushed his plate of pasta into the middle of the table.

Sango took in his pleading expression for a minute before grudgingly conceding. "Alright... I do love pasta..." Picking up her fork, she stabbed a few noodles and popped them in her mouth as a smile broke out across Miroku's face. Seeing he was in the clear, Chad meandered off to attend to some of his other customers.

The rest of their meal passed suspiciously well, though Miroku was on edge the whole time. Too many things had gone wrong since the date started for the whole thing not to be terribly jinxed. And their peaceful meal made him suspect it was only the calm before the storm.

Once they had finished the last of the noodles, with a Lady and the Tramp comment issued by Sango somewhere in the middle of it, Miroku stood up nervously and offered his hand to Sango. "Um...did you want to dance, Sango?"

Sango looked up at him curiously. Since when was he ever nervous? "Sure," she agreed and placed her hand in his. As they made their way to the dancing section on the other side of the restaurant, they noticed that, though it was noisy when they had originally entered, it had become much rowdier. Many individuals were staggering instead of dancing and some more...far gone customers were trying to sing along with the music.

Sango and Miroku shrugged at each other before bravely entering into the chaos.

..:V:..

Kagome narrowed her eyes as she watched a girl with slightly similar features to her own walk away from Inuyasha. "Now who is she...?" she muttered darkly to herself.

Even though her voice was low, Sesshoumaru heard her. "Who? Ah, her. That's Kikyo," he said nonchalantly.

Kagome assumed a thoughtful expression. "Kikyo...Kikyo... Where have I heard that name before?"

"Well, she _is_ the top female ski racer," Sesshoumaru replied blandly. "She and Inuyasha are 'buddies' so to speak."

Kagome narrowed her eyes even further. "'Buddies'? How much of buddies, if you don't mind me asking...?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a ghost of a smirk before replying, "Strictly friends."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "You're sure?"

"Yes," Sesshoumaru responded, bored.

"I mean, you're completely positive?" Kagome pressed.

"Oh, well there was this one time..." Sesshoumaru trailed off.

Kagome yanked on his collar and jerked him down so that his face was level with hers. "What?!"

Sesshoumaru looked down at her with an expression akin to slight amusement. "You have nothing to worry about, girl. I'm completely positive that my brother and Kikyo are strictly friends."

Kagome let go of his collar and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, good... Wait...did you just demonstrate a sense of humour...?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes snapped to hers. "No," he said abruptly.

"Yes, you did."

"No. I didn't," Sesshoumaru said with a note of finality. Kagome gave up arguing with him at that point, and let a few moments go by in silence.

"So where is Rin?" Kagome asked curiously once the lack of talking bored her. "I don't see her anywhere..."

Sesshoumaru shrugged and casually glanced in the direction of one of the corners of the large ballroom. "Oh, she's just over there an–whaaat?!"

Kagome started at the first real hint of emotion she'd ever heard in Sesshoumaru's voice. "What? What's going on?!" she asked frantically, whipping her head in the direction he was looking. It must be something drastic to have gotten Sesshoumaru's voice to change pitch.

There, in the corner of the room, was Rin; but she wasn't alone. Someone was advancing on her and trapping her in the corner. Someone who looked suspiciously like...

"John..." Sesshoumaru growled lowly.

"Rin's stalker?" Kagome asked in shock. "What's he doing here?"

Sesshoumaru released her and rolled up his white sleeves. "Probably harassing Rin again... Which is something he's gonna regret..."

As Kagome watched, Sesshoumaru stiffly marched over to where John was leering at his ice dancing partner and tapped him soundly on the shoulder. John spun around and his expression froze as he saw the enraged Sesshoumaru glaring at him. The next thing he knew, Sesshoumaru had grabbed his upper arm and started dragging him towards the exit.

Kagome trailed after him, but stopped her pursuit once Sesshoumaru had exited the doors with John struggling behind him. She then found she was beside the punch table and decided to get herself a new glass of the drink.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha had been silently fuming as he watched Kagome and Sesshoumaru dancing. How could Sesshoumaru do that to him and dance with _his_ date?! And how could _she_ go ahead and dance with _him_?! How could they just ignore him like that? He'd show them...

Inuyasha trailed off from muttering incoherently under his breath when he noticed that Sesshoumaru and Kagome had stopped dancing in favour of saving Rin from John. Sesshoumaru soon dragged the stalker out of the door and Inuyasha realized that now Rin and Kagome were now both alone. He grinned. He took one look at Kagome, looking glamourous in her scarlet gown, her silky raven hair spilling out of her up do, and her brown eyes glimmering in the dim light, before abruptly turning and marching up to the girl in the corner.

Holding out his hand, he asked, "Care to dance...Rin?"

..:V:..

"Having...urgh...a good time....Sango?" Miroku asked with a pained smile.

Sango was shoved painfully into his chest for the fifth time since they'd begun to dance before grimacing. "Oh...wonderful, thank you." She shoved back on the rowdy man behind her, sending him staggering unstably into the middle of the rest of the group he was with.

"That's...heh, heh...good," Miroku said nervously.

"Ye–ow!–es," Sango agreed amiably as a slightly tipsy woman accidentally stomped on one of her feet. "Actually–oomph!–I can't recall a time when I've had near this much–ack!–fun."

"Oh, well–get your elbow out of my side!–I was hoping you'd say that," Miroku replied, the person he'd told off in the middle of his sentence scurrying away.

"Gotta say–hey, lady! My leg doesn't bend that way so could you stop sitting on it?!" Sango shouted down to a woman who had suddenly slumped down on her lower leg.

"I think she passed out..." Miroku said thoughtfully.

Sango jerked her leg out from underneath the unconscious woman before continuing to dance with Miroku. "As I was saying, I gotta say, I'm having the–OW! That was my hair, you–! Er...ahem...having the time of my life," Sango finished with a weak smile.

"Good!" Miroku said cheerfully before his smile drooped. "That makes one of us..."

"Aww, maaaan...!" a coarse voice sounded near the attempting-to-dance couple. Miroku and Sango turned slightly to see a man staggering unsteadily through the other people on the dance floor. "I feel sooo sick...!"

The green-faced man stopped abruptly and proceeded to up heave the contents of his stomach directly at Sango's feet. With disgusted looks, Miroku and Sango stopped dancing and took a tentative step backwards.

"Thanks..." Sango said dryly to the drunk man.

"You know, my mother was an alcoholic..." Chad spoke up conversationally from where he was leaning casually against the counter of the bar section.

Miroku slapped a palm to his forehead.

..:V:..

"I still say that by the end of the night, they'll all be officially together," Ayame said stubbornly.

"I don't know..." Kouga said sceptically. "Inuyasha can be pretty stubborn...and slow on the uptake... And he hates to admit his feelings to anyone; even himself... I say him and Kagome are going to take their time..."

"I'm sorry, but I just can't agree with you," Ayame said, sticking to her opinion. "If anything, I would expect their hook up to go more smoothly. I mean, I think Miroku's wandering hands will slow his and Sango's relationship down more than Inuyasha's stubbornness will slow down his relationship with Kagome."

"That's true about Miroku's hands..." Kouga mused. "So given his hands and Inuyasha's attitude, I still think it'll take an extra day to get each relationship solidified."

"You keep thinking that," Ayame said. "But I can practically guarantee that they'll both be solidified by the end of tonight."

"Well, if you're so sure, and I'm so sure," Kouga started cockily, "why don't we make a bet on it?"

"I'll take you up on that," Ayame said confidently. "So...what are we betting on it...?"

"Um..." Kouga looked thoughtful for a moment before his face cleared. "I know! A kiss!"

Ayame looked at him with a slight blush. "...A kiss?"

"Yeah!" Kouga said happily as if he'd just cured cancer. "If I win, you have to give me a kiss! And if you win...uh...I give you a kiss?"

Ayame giggled and rolled her eyes. "I'll be just _devastated_ if I lose."

"Oh, me too," Kouga said, grinning. "But that doesn't mean I won't win!"

..:V:..

"Ah, well that takes care of that," Sesshoumaru declared to himself as he dusted off his hands and reentered the ballroom. Seeing that Rin was no longer in the corner where he'd left her, but Kagome was by the punch table, Sesshoumaru headed in her direction.

When Kagome saw him approach, she mustered a half smile and tipped her punch glass to him in acknowledgement. "Took out the trash?" she asked when he was in earshot.

"And personally took it to the dump," Sesshoumaru said in grim satisfaction. He then proceeded to grab his own glass and fill it up with punch before turning back around, noticing in passing that Kagome's shoulders were slightly hunched. "So...you look somewhat tense... There's a reason, I suppose?" he asked, though not really interested.

Kagome slowly turned to him, her eyebrow twitching slightly. "Look out on the dance floor," she said bitterly.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow but did as she bid while taking a casual sip of his punch. A split second later, he spluttered and split it back in his cup before hastily wiping his mouth and pretending nothing had happened. Meanwhile, his eyes never left the couple dancing together in the centre of the room.

He summoned the most calm voice he could before speaking, "Why..._exactly_...are Inuyasha and Rin dancing together...?"

Kagome downed the rest of her punch before futilely trying to crush the cup in her hand. "Beats me..." she said in clipped words. Glaring, she looked down at the cup that refused to crush in her fist, and shook it a few times.

"Here; allow _me_," Sesshoumaru said darkly as he reached across and swiped the plastic cup from her grasp. In one swift movement, he crumpled it beyond recognition before tossing it behind him where it landed perfectly in a garbage can. He then quickly finished his own drink and repeated the action.

"So..." Kagome said, trying to hide the annoyance in her voice.

"Having the same overwhelming urge to go break them apart...?" Sesshoumaru asked casually.

"Oh, yeah," Kagome responded quickly.

"I suggest we act on that urge," Sesshoumaru suggested.

"Yeah, okay," Kagome agreed readily.

Determinedly, Sesshoumaru and Kagome set out for the targeted couple. Once they reached where Inuyasha and Rin were dancing, they each set a hand on one of their shoulders and jerked them apart. Startled, the dancing pair stumbled apart from one another and looked on in surprise at the two who had interrupted them.

Inuyasha recovered first and was quick to plaster a smirk on his face at the sight of both Sesshoumaru and Kagome peeved. His plan of revenge had worked. "Yes?" he inquired politely. "Was there a reason you interrupted Rin and I's dance?"

Sesshoumaru looked like he was about to say something for a moment before he turned abruptly to Kagome and said, "We didn't really plan anything out after this point, did we?"

"No..." Kagome said, frowning. "Maybe we should have thought more ahead..."

"Well, then," Inuyasha said. "If you two have nothing more to say, Rin and I will be getting back to our dance..."

"No!" Sesshoumaru protested. "You may not dance with Rin!"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Why not? She _is_ my friend, after all. What's the problem?"

"You know very well what the problem is, brother!" Sesshoumaru said with the slightest snarl entering his voice. "You're just using Rin in order to get back at me and your girlfriend for dancing together!"

"Am not!" Inuyasha protested. "...Why _were_ you dancing with her?" he continued in an accusing tone. He seemed to have forgotten to refute the 'girlfriend' comment...

Sesshoumaru crossed his arms and gave his brother a smug expression. "I was so right. But anyways, truthfully, brother, I couldn't bear to see anyone affiliated with me be so disgraced by being in the presence of that Naraku. Wouldn't you have done the same for Rin?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms as well, creating an almost perfect reflection of Sesshoumaru. "That's different," he sniffed.

"I fail to see how," Sesshoumaru responded.

"Well, it is!"

"It clearly isn't, brother."

"Yes! It is!"

"Not by a long shot..."

"It's different!" Inuyasha insisted.

Rin and Kagome rolled their eyes at each other before walking off and leaving the brothers to their bickering.

"I think I'm gonna go see if _Hojo_'s managed to sneak in as well," Kagome said in a bored tone.

"Yeah...I think Kouga's free this dance," Rin said. "Maybe I'll see if he'd be willing to dance with me..."

Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru finally cut off from their arguing a few minutes later when they suddenly saw Kagome and Hojo, and Rin and Kouga go waltzing by out of the corners of their eyes. Closing their hanging jaws with a snap, Sesshoumaru ventured with a, "Maybe we didn't think this through either, brother..."

..:V:..

"Um...are you just about ready to leave?" Miroku asked in a depressed voice as they squeezed their way through the mass of people cluttering up the dance floor.

"Yeah, I think so," Sango responded. "Just...a bit...farther...!" As they were just about to leave the crowd, a singing man was shoved backwards into them. He accidentally brushed up against Sango and his hand connected with her butt. She squeaked at the unwanted physical contact and Miroku's head automatically snapped around.

The man's hand on his date's rear seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to the horrible string of events that was that night, and Miroku snapped, letting out an animal-like growl. Stepping forward and pulling back his arm, he swung his fist around as hard as he could and nailed the man square in the jaw. The man, in turn, stumbled back into his buddies before promptly straightening and letting out his own snarl. With unfocused eyes, he staggered forward and soundly punched the man directly beside Miroku.

Miroku watched with a raised eyebrow as the man beside him fell to the ground before shaking his head and leading the gaping Sango the rest of the way out of the crowd. Behind them, they heard slurred angry shouts and sounds of more flesh hitting flesh.

"Wow..." Sango said as she continued to stare incredulously at Miroku as he quickly paid the bill. "So does this mean you'll have to punch yourself from now on whenever you grope me?"

Miroku's eyebrow twitched. "I must say, I'm biased when it comes to myself... But I sorely needed to hit something, and he proved to be the most asking-for-it punching bag. Hope you're not too opposed to my loss of temper."

Sango grinned. "Are you kidding? Honestly, would you want _your_ ass grabbed by him?"

Miroku tried to smile, but it soon faltered. "Thanks..." He gently took hold of her upper arm and began to lead her out of the restaurant. Behind them, a full-fledged brawl had broken out, complete with sounds of crashing furniture, grunts, groans, connecting fists, and men's voices emanating in high-pitched squeals.

"Hope you come back soon!" Chad called out after them. "I had a great time!"

The door of the restaurant shut behind them with a click.

..:V:..

"You know, this is _your_ fault," Sesshoumaru said pointedly.

"_Me_?!" Inuyasha said incredulously. "How is this _my_ fault?!"

"_You're_ the one who started our argument by dancing with Rin and ignoring your girlfriend!" Sesshoumaru told him.

"_You're_ the one who danced with my girlfr–er...with Kagome in the first place!" Inuyasha argued.

"Getting her out of the clutches of Naraku!"

Inuyasha threw up his arms. "Not back to this again!"

"I'm just pointing out to you why it's your fault that Rin and your girlfriend are off dancing with Kouga and...that vapid-looking boy over there..." Sesshoumaru trailed off vaguely, indicating Hojo as he danced by holding Kagome nervously in his arms.

"It's not my fault! It's _yours_!"

..:V:..

"Gee, Kagome, I'm sure glad you decided to dance with me!" Hojo said happily as he and Kagome waltzed by the fuming brothers.

_And I can't BELIEVE I decided to dance with you_, Kagome thought to herself. Out loud she laughed lightly and said, "Oh, well, I'm glad I got a chance to before the night was through..." _Jeez, I must have been DESPERATE to resort to this!_

Hojo continued to smile obliviously.

..:V:..

The two brothers were by now brooding silently side by side with their arms sullenly crossed. They glared at the two other boys who happened to have Kagome and Rin in their arms with enough intensity to melt an iceberg. If either Hojo or Kouga had caught a glance at them, they would have cowed and backed down quicker than they could blink an eye. But unfortunately for Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, they continued on dancing in oblivion.

_How to get back at her...?_ they both thought simultaneously. Suddenly, they both noticed Ayame refilling her glass of juice at the punch table. A split second later, they were both speed walking in her direction.

Ayame smiled to herself as she topped off her cup. She took a sip before turning around and practically choking as Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha bore quickly down on her. She shrank away from their intimidating presence and grinned weakly in the face of their enraged expressions.

"Want to dance, Ayame?" they both asked at the same time before turning and giving each other a dirty look.

"Uhh..." Ayame said uncertainly as she glanced nervously around her for a clue as to what was going on. Spotting Kagome dancing with Hojo and Rin dancing with her own boyfriend, Kouga, realization hit her. "Oooohhhhh....!" She shook her head in disbelief. "You guys are hopeless," she informed the two shocked brothers.

Determinedly, Ayame made her way across the dance floor to first Rin and Kouga, then to Kagome and Hojo, effectively stopping their dances. She beckoned them all back to the punch table where Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were still waiting and then lined everyone up.

"What are you doing...?" Inuyasha asked, confused.

"Shut up," Ayame told him pointedly. "Now; I'm going to fix this stupid mix up. Rin!"

"Yes?" the brown-haired girl chirped expectantly.

"You're with Sesshoumaru," Ayame said, shoving the tall silver-haired man towards her. "Go. Dance. Now."

"Yes, ma'am!" Sesshoumaru and Rin declared before escaping off to the dance floor.

"Kouga!"

"Yeah?"

Ayame smiled. "You're with me. Hang on a sec as I sort the rest of these guys out and then we'll go dance some more."

"Sounds good to me," Kouga said as he came to stand beside her.

"Inuyasha and Kagome!"

"Uh huh?"

"Yes?"

Ayame marched up to them and shoved them close together. "Go dance together. Be happy. Hook up officially by the end of the night!"

"Hey!" Kouga protested indignantly. "Interference!"

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kagome had taken a few steps before stopping abruptly and looking back at Ayame with raised eyebrows. "What did you say?!"

"Nothing!" Ayame said in a sing song voice before pressing a palm into the small of each of their backs and pushing them out on the dance floor.

"You're so cheating on our bet," Kouga continued to grumble. "You can't _interfere_ in order to win."

Ayame stuck out her tongue at him jokingly. "You just wish you had thought of it first."

Kouga sighed. "True..."

"Now! Hojo!" Ayame called out to the last person left standing before her.

"Yes?" he replied eagerly.

"........You're on your own."

..:V:..

"This is _horrible_!" Miroku exclaimed when they reached the nearest bench to the restaurant they had exited a few minutes earlier.

Sango looked at him in confusion. "What's horrible?"

Miroku looked at her incredulously before dropping his gaze again and launching into a rant. "Everything's horrible! This whole night has been horrible! First we get to this restaurant, one I promise you will be fabulous, and it's a little busy. Okay, not too bad so far. So then we sit down and are practically immediately bombarded by this waiter who has no life, but enough personal problems that he feels the need to unload a few on us!"

Sango let out a small giggle.

"So once we _finally_ get him to leave us the heck alone, these little prepubescent twerps start hitting on you with their stupid notes and voices worthy of any woman I've ever met!" Miroku continued, not noticing Sango's shoulders give a slight shake. "You know, _clearly_ that wasn't bad enough, and so the stupid restaurant has to make their menu unreadable to a typical Anglophone and they end up serving you one of the most disgusting meals on this planet! And as a side topping, you got some nice, half chewed meatball fresh out of someone else's throat!"

Sango nodded her head fervently in agreement, not trusting her voice, as her shoulders shook violently by this time.

"Alright, the rest of our shared meal passed by calmly enough, but apparently _too_ calm for some higher being's liking," Miroku noted bitterly. "And so when we tried dancing, we had the honour of having Alcoholics Anonymous dropouts as buddies on the dance floor! You were getting shoved every which way, and it was hardly what I would have called a dance!"

Sango held her stomach with one hand as the other wiped a tear of mirth from her eye.

"But you know what they thought would add to the decor even more at that restaurant?" Miroku asked rhetorically before answering himself. "A nice vomit patch at your feet. Provided by none other but the most valued and dignified guest, of course."

"Of course," Sango managed to get out as she desperately tried to suppress her giggles.

"And _Chad_ still couldn't manage to shut his mouth up during all of this," Miroku said in disdain.

"Very disturbed man..." Sango said in a patronising way.

"I know!" Miroku agreed fervently. "And so we try to escape that dreaded place, and we can't even leave without them giving us a going away present in the form of a voted out Canadian Idol contestant feeling you up!"

Sango could barely stand at this point.

"So I sock him one because I can't stand it anymore, and I inadvertently start a drunken brawl!" Miroku finished with a throwing up of his arms as he finally raised his gaze in order to look at Sango. "Everything's been so incredibly horr–huh? What's so funny?"

Sango couldn't hold it in any longer and she burst out laughing as she collapsed beside him on the bench. When her giggles had died down enough for her to speak, she said, "Oh, geez... Oh, it hurts...so funny...!"

Miroku looked at her with a baffled expression. "I don't get it. What's so funny?"

Sango looked at him in bewilderment as her laughter subsided. "Oh, Miroku... This whole night has been so funny! Don't you realize it? Didn't you listen to yourself just now?"

Miroku looked thoughtful for a moment for a slight smile graced his features. "Well...I suppose it was kinda amusing..."

"'Kinda amusing'?" Sango asked. "It was downright hilarious! And you know what? I really did have a good time." She smiled at him brilliantly.

"Y-you did?" Miroku asked with a hopeful expression. "But...but what about all the things went wrong tonight? Why didn't you have a horrible time?"

Sango kept grinning. "Because it was actually fun in a weird, twisted way. Why? Did you want me to have a bad time?"

"Uh-what? No! Of course not!" Miroku protested adamantly. "It's just that...well–"

Sango reached out and grasped his face between her two hands. "Oh, get over it," she cut him off. "I had a _great_ time." Without thinking twice about what she was about to do, she brought his face towards her and covered his lips with her own.

To say Miroku was surprised was a gross understatement. He was so shocked that Sango was kissing him after the worst date he could have ever imagined, that he couldn't even move.

After a moment of Miroku not responding, Sango felt a pang of hurt and began to pull away. This, however, seemed to snap Miroku back to his senses, and he quickly leaned forward to recapture the sweet taste of Sango's lips. The feel of his lips massaging hers sent thrills down Sango's spine and she eagerly quickened the pace of the kiss. Miroku was more than happy to respond.

After a few moments, the two broke apart, out of breath. Breathless, they sheepishly grinned at each other as if they'd stolen a cookie out of the cookie jar while mother wasn't watching.

"So...um...you believe me now...?" Sango asked tentatively.

"Ah, yes; I believe you made your point quite thoroughly," Miroku replied, the grin still tugging at his lips.

"Well...you know what they say; actions speak louder than words..." Sango said.

"A philosophy I'm more than happy to go by," Miroku said earnestly. "But instead of playing charades for ten minutes, I'm just going to come out and ask you directly whether or not the position of my girlfriend would interest you. I mean, the spot's currently vacant and you definitely meet all the criteria so–"

Sango flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "I'll take it!" she cried happily. "When do I start?"

"Well, as soon as possible, of course. Which would be about...now," Miroku said, grinning like an idiot.

"Great! Then it's all settled," Sango said, giving him another quick kiss before also grinning like an idiot. "Now let's get back to the resort...I'm _freezing_ out here."

"Oh, don't worry, Sango," Miroku said in a suggestive tone. "_I'll_ keep you warm."

Sango rolled her eyes, but giggled anyway. "Oh, Miroku...my poor little pervert..."

..:V:..

Kagome sighed. Now _this_ was how she'd imagined her night to turn out. Being in Inuyasha's strong arms as they flowed together through the steps of the dance was like pure heaven. They'd already danced two dances together, but she wasn't intending to give him up until the entire ceremony drew to a close. With a smile, she lifted her head from where she had laid it against Inuyasha's shoulder and gazed up at him until he noticed her staring at him.

Quirking an eyebrow, he asked, "Yes?" with a gentle smile of his own.

"Nothing..." Kagome said, sighing blissfully once again. "Just having a good time...finally...now that I'm dancing...with you."

Inuyasha felt a tinge of pink grace his cheeks, but quickly managed to get his emotions under control. "I'm glad I'm dancing with you now too...though dancing with Kikyo was pretty fun..." At Kagome's dangerously narrowed eyes, he smiled and said, "I'm joking, I'm joking. I like Kikyo, but we're just friends. I could only have so much fun dancing if you were my partner..." Inuyasha trailed off as the pink returned to his cheeks.

Kagome gave him the fish eye for a moment before declaring bitterly, "You and your brother share a sick sense of humour..." But she smiled anyway and laid her head back on his shoulder as his arms tightened around her.

..:V:..

A/N Ka-ching! Extra long chapter for you all; eleven pages going on twelve! Le gasp!

Ahh, I enjoyed writing this chapter muchos, I must say. It was so much fun! I really hope you all enjoyed it too so I hope to hear all of your thoughts/comments/fav. parts!

And oooh, what's this? Even though it was the date from hell, Miroku and Sango still managed to hook up! And Inuyasha and Kagome are...getting there... Someday...maybe...hopefully...they just _might_ hook up. –wink–

Oh, and just to remind everyone, this chapter has marked the end of Tuesday and so the next chapter shall commence with Wednesday, the first day of the competition! Stay tuned!

IMPORTANT!: Yeah, so I have been officially banned by my parents from the internet until after Christmas... I should still be able to sneak in updates (like I'm doing with this one), but, uh...try to be patient and understanding of my plight...eh, heh...

Anymewho, another generous quote donation from Albino Black Sheep was: Never argue with stupid people. First they'll drag you down to their level and then they'll beat you with experience.

I _have_ heard that one before, but it still is a great quote. Here's one of mine to think about that kind of relates to it: The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen...and stupidity.

Talk to you all later!


	31. It's All About Speed

Disclaimer: Inuyasha's not mine....but the roads are!!!! Mwuahaha, I know have my G2, which means I can drive without a parent in the car! Ahahahaha!

A/N .........................Eh, heh. Don't kill me...? Okay, I'm REALLY, REALLY, INSANELY SORRY for not updating in so long, guys! I got banned from the internet again and then kicked out of my precious basement (where I always type these beautiful chapters). That _really_ cramped my writing style, not to mention the fact that I had to focus a bunch on my school work ('cause my teachers give me a test in each course like, once a week). So I picked away at this chapter, but it also didn't want to get written because a lot of it was informative stuff (which isn't as fun to write, if you could guess). But then I was released from my ban for the holidays! Yay! And I worked _furiously_ to get this silly thing out! So I really hope you enjoy it and that it makes up for my bad, bad updating!

Hehe, Kayzer, I find those "mature audience" warnings on Inuyasha absolutely _hilarious_! I almost laugh every time I see them.

FlamingRedFox, wow! Thank you SO much for all of your awesome compliments. You made me squeal...–blushes– Ask Spacewolf, she was there with me when I read your review. I'll try to keep living up to your expectations!

Tanwen–Whitefire, well... Ice dancing and figure skating are actually two different things. Ice dancing is more like actually _dancing_ on ice, whereas figure skating is more about tricks and uh...technical stuff, I guess. Lol, I don't know a lot about the two, but I DO know there's a difference, and I decided to make Rin and Sesshoumaru ice dancers instead of figure skaters. Okay? And also, yes, I know fluff is a term, and that I _basically_ what oranges and grapefruits are, but see, we wondered, why didn't fluff didn't a citrus terms as well as lemons and limes? So we made up its citrus terms. :) And join the Naraku and Kikyo maiming team, hmm...? The proposition has merit, but then who would we make fun of? Sesshoumaru would be the only one left... ;)

Oh, and random person, did I say Naraku was ugly at some point (I'm not accusing you, I just genuinely can't remember)? I mean, I know I said he was _creepy_, which he is, and every time the group looks at him, they have to shudder because well... Whenever they see him, they have the mental picture of him in a speedo stuck in their minds and honestly! that is just nasty, lol! Yes, I know Inuyasha's past needs to be touched on a bit, and I'm coming to it...you'll just have to wait a couple more chapters is all. –wink– Though, the others don't really have interesting pasts. I mean, they're just normal, everyday teenagers who've pretty much been in the same place all their lives and haven't done anything too intensely interesting... Lol, but I'll try to touch on their backgrounds as well. Thanks for your comments!

Sorry I couldn't respond to everyone; there was around seventy–three reviews! But I loved all of your comments and greatly appreciate your faith and support!

IMPORTANT!!!: Okay, guys; while I was banned, I FINALLY finished that ski tutorial I promised you! I greatly, GREATLY advise ALL of you to read it so you can better understand everything that's going on around the ski racing. I explain a lot in this chapter, but I think the ski tutorial will help you even more; especially to visualize the courses and such. Please go read it immediately! If you go to my bio, click on what's set up as my homepage. Then link to the ski tutorial from there! My good buddy Calum set up the layout and such on that site so yay for her! Without her, you wouldn't be able to see the ski tutorial at all! –round of applause– Now what are you all waiting for? Go read it! BEFORE you read the chapter!

..:V:..

"Uuuhhhnnn..." Inuyasha groaned as he rolled over onto his side in order to shut off his beeping alarm clock. "Wanna...sleep...more..."

"Inuyasha! Better wake up!" Kouga's voice yelled through his bedroom door. "Today's the big day, remember? ...Well...the first big day, anyways. Tomorrow will be the second... Anyway, get up!"

Inuyasha yawned and rubbed his bleary eyes for a moment before what Kouga was saying sunk into his brain. Then he shot up in bed and glanced around frantically. "Right!...Right!...Crap!...Crap! Gotta get ready; fast!"

The silver-haired boy hastily jumped out of bed and made his way out to the bathroom, passing a harried Miroku and Kouga on his way. After a quick ten minute shower, Inuyasha raced back to his room where he practically jumped into his clothes and speed suit, and where he bundled his long mane into a low ponytail that trailed down his back.

Exiting his room, he raced for the kitchen and arrived roughly at the same time as Kouga. His eyes searched around the tiny space for something quick to eat. "Aha!" he declared as his eyes landed upon a candidate. "Pop Tarts!"

"You know what they say," Kouga shrugged. "A good breakfast full of all the right nutrients prepares you for an active day!"

Inuyasha grinned down at his chocolate fudge pop tart. "Exactly!" he agreed. "I mean, where would we be if we didn't have healthy foods like Pop Tarts? We'd probably be forced to eat junk food breakfasts such as plain Cheerios, Whole Wheat Bran, or oatmeal. Thank god _someone_ is thinking of our nutritional needs!"

Kouga nodded his head in agreement and swiped a couple of his own Pop Tarts.

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and bright! And I pity any girl–er–guy? who wasn't me last night!" Miroku sang as he waltzed into the kitchen, brushing the last few knots out of his hair.

Kouga and Inuyasha shared a look before both looking down suspiciously at their Pop Tarts.

"I feel charming, oh so charming! It's alarming how charming I feel! And so pretty, that I hardly believe it was real!" Miroku continued, dancing over to the counter where the box of Pop Tarts still lay. "Did you see that pretty girl in my arms last night? How more attractive could she be? Such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile, such a great smooch she gave me!"

Kouga and Inuyasha began coughing loudly in order to cover up their snickers.

"I feel stunning! And entrancing! Feel like running and dancing for joy! For I'm loved by a pretty, wonderful girl!"

Kouga raised an eyebrow. "That didn't rhyme..." he muttered suspiciously.

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, that the ski club should give me its key. A committee should be organized to honour me. I feel dizzy, I feel sunny, I feel fizzy and funny and fine! And so pretty, I think Miss Naraku can just resign!" Miroku continued singing, oblivious, as he plucked a Pop Tart out of its box and began heating it in the toaster.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kouga began thumping each other on the back as they started to choke on their breakfast. "I think they must have added an extra nutrient in these Pop Tarts," Kouga managed to get out, pretending that was the real reason they were practically asphyxiating.

After repeating a previous verse, Miroku finished off his morning song with, "I feel stunning, and entrancing! Feel like running and dancing for joy! For I'm in love, and I'm such a pretty, wonderful boy!"

"Ah," Inuyasha observed. "He fixed his rhyming error."

"Ahhhhh!!" Miroku sighed loudly as the toaster popped and he retrieved his goods.

"It's such a wonderful morning to be alive, wouldn't you agree?"

"Umm...sure..." Kouga ventured. "But anyways, I take it your date went...fairly well last night?"

Miroku turned and gave him an enormous grin. "Oh, no; it was the worst date in the history of dates. But Sango still kissed me anyway! And now she's my girlfriend officially! Ahh, Sango... You're so pretty, oh so pretty–"

"Ack, no! DON'T start that again!" Inuyasha interrupted him, scowling.

"Tsk, tsk, so grumpy, Inuyasha," Miroku scolded tauntingly.

"He's just jealous because _Kagome_ didn't kiss _him_ last night," Kouga said, winking.

"Ahh," Miroku said in understanding. Then he went over and patted Inuyasha on the head. "Poor Inuyasha. Maybe if you were as charming, oh so charming as me..." He trailed off at the racer's murderous glare.

"I don't think I need any of your _charm_, thanks," Inuyasha said scathingly. "And I certainly wouldn't get jealous over a stupid, petty thing like that. It's not even remotely in my nature to get jealous." With that, he nodded his head and crossed his arms stubbornly.

Miroku and Kouga shared a look. "Should we leave now before he makes even more of a fool and liar of himself?" Kouga asked.

"Might be a good idea..." Miroku agreed, nodding before wolfing down his heated Pop Tart.

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched. "If we didn't have to go now anyway, I would make you two seriously reconsider that decision. As it is, we have to go quickly to get the girls so we can get out on the hill early and–" He was interrupted by a knock at their condo door.

"I'll get it!" Miroku chirped cheerfully as he scampered out of the kitchen. Kouga and Inuyasha watched him go with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah..." Inuyasha muttered. "You do that..."

A second later, they could hear the door being opened and the voices of the girls floating in.

"Hey, Miroku!"

"Good morning!"

"Um...hi, Miroku..."

Inuyasha and Kouga shared a look. "Was that Sango sounding somewhat nervous...and happy to see Miroku?" Inuyasha asked as if he hadn't heard correctly.

Kouga shrugged. "Miracles _do_ happen."

Kagome's voice drifted to them as she and the others approached the kitchen. "So, Miroku, are Inuyasha and Kouga ready for the big race tod–ahhh!" She and the other two girls stopped dead in the doorway, staring at the two boys before abruptly turning their backs to them and standing rigidly straight.

"Nope! Definitely not ready! We'll–uh–just wait here while you guys...don some appropriate _clothing_," Ayame said in a high–pitched voice.

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked, confused.

"Inuyasha, sweetie," Kagome started in a sickeningly sweet voice. "I'd like to bring it to your attention that _you're wearing spandex!_"

Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up and he looked down at himself. "Uhh, no, I'm not. These are just our speed suits." The girls didn't react. "For racing," Inuyasha continued. "They provide less air resistance; they allow us to go faster, hence the name 'speed suit'." The girls still didn't turn around. "Oh, for crying out loud, they're not that bad!" Inuyasha protested, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Sango muttered before joining hands with her friends. "Alright. Come on, guys, we can do this." Slowly, with their eyes screwed shut, the three girls shuffled around until they were once again facing Kouga and Inuyasha.

"Okay, on the count of three, we open our eyes," Ayame said in a determined voice. "One...two..."

"You know," Miroku interrupted. "There must be _some_ spandex in those suits. They stretch like crazy and then fit so tight."

"Ack!" Kagome cried. "Abort countdown! Abort! Abort, I say!"

"Ooookay," Sango said shakily. "We really can do this. I swear. I'm not disillusioning myself. No; never. Alright, just breathe...relax, breathe, and just...open your eyes..."

"You do realize that _all_ the racers will be wearing speed suits," Kouga piped up.

Sango shuddered horribly before covering her still–closed eyes with her hands and spinning around. "I just can't do it, guys! Go on without me!"

"No way!" Kagome argued. "We can't possibly do it without you! Come on, Sango; be strong!"

The boys rolled their eyes and walked around the girls in order to put on their outer ski wear while they continued talking.

"Alright, I've got a plan," Ayame said. "We just look at their faces; nothing else."

"Good idea; let not thine eyes stray lower," Sango said in a reverent tone.

"Ahhhh!!!" Kagome screamed suddenly.

"What is it?" Ayame asked frantically. "Are you alright?"

"N–no..." Kagome replied shakily. "I just... It's that... Kouga said _all _of the racers would be i–in the spandex suits a–and it just occurred to me t–that that means that...N–Naraku...Naraku will... Oh, maaaan...!"

"Gah! _Horrible_ mental image!" Sango burst out. "I vow here and now never to open my eyes again!"

From the condo door, Miroku rolled his eyes before getting an idea. "Oh, Saaaango!" he called in a highly creepy tone.

"Ahhh! Where's the pervert? Where's the pervert?!" Sango babbled, opening her eyes and searching frantically around herself.

"Over here," Miroku said. "And 'the pervert' happens to be your new boyfriend. Don't I get any leeway?"

"Oh, no; definitely not!" Sango said emphatically. "If I gave you an inch, you'd grope all over me!" With this, she turned around to glare at Miroku, only to discover all three boys by the door, completely bundled up in their normal ski pants and jackets, not an inch of spandex to be seen. They all also looked quite impatient as Kouga checked his watch for the time. "Oh...you're all...clothed. When did that happen?"

"Wait–it's safe?" Kagome asked. "Are you sure? Everything's covered?"

"Yeah, everything's covered!" Inuyasha snapped. "Well...for now, anyways. We're gonna have to take off our outer gear for the actual race and all..."

"You just _have_ to go and keep making things worse, don't you?" Kagome asked bitterly as she opened her eyes and made her way towards the boys, Sango and Ayame following.

"Naturally," Inuyasha responded with a boyish grin. "Now, we just have to get our helmets and we can head out."

"Your helmets?" Ayame asked.

"Yeah," Kouga answered her as Inuyasha went to their respective rooms to search for the headgear. "All racers must wear helmets on the course, or else they're not allowed on it. We should probably wear our helmets anyways when we're just skiing for fun, but..."

"But you're boys, and the need to look cool takes precedence over the need for safety," Sango finished dryly.

"Yeah, that about sums it up," Kouga nodded. "Though we still look cool with our helmets on," he added cockily.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."

"Here we are!" Inuyasha announced, returning to the group with two helmets in his hands. Handing one to Kouga, the others noticed it was varying shades of swirling blues and was shaped in such a way as to provide minimum air resistance.

"Jeez, even their safety gear is shaped to provide speed. I don't even want to know how fast you guys can manage to go," Ayame said in wonder.

"Who knows, but you can bet it's bat out of hell fast," Inuyasha grinned, fitting his own helmet on his head. This one was varying shades of red, and at the top, right above the opening for his face, a red, snarling dog could be seen clearly. Then, Inuyasha took a little bag out of his pocket and took out some different goggles than the ones he had been wearing up until then. Holding them up, he said, "This are my lucky goggles. I never race without 'em."

Kagome looked closer and every time she moved her head to look at them from a different angle, a couple of snarling dogs would come into view, looking for all the world as if they were in the third dimension. She giggled. "I'm sensing a trend here, Inuyasha. First the Tetsusaiga skis, then your helmet, and now your goggles."

Inuyasha shrugged with a grin. "What can I say? My family's into dogs. Anyways, at least my speed suit isn't covered with snarling dogs."

"No, that's where your fascination with red kicks in," Kagome responded dryly. "Although I do admit that the flames coming up the arms and legs are cool, they're still red, and I think you need to see someone about this unholy obsession."

"Yes, mommy," Inuyasha mocked. Kagome gave him a flat look.

"Okay!" Miroku broke in. "Here's a novel idea! How about we head out to ski now?"

"Wow, Miroku!" Sango exclaimed. "You're a genius! I would have never thought of that! Clearly, it didn't occur to these two either!"

Inuyasha and Kagome turned to glare at the new couple. "Alright, alright; we get it; we're going!" Inuyasha grumbled. "Jeez...some people..."

Once they had all trooped out of the condominium complex, they popped into their skis and headed for the main building of the ski resort.

"What do we have to do here?" Ayame asked as the boys led the way.

"We have to get our bibs," Inuyasha replied with a shrug.

The girls shared an uneasy look.

"Uh...excuse me?" Kagome asked. "Bibs? What are you, three?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Not _those _kind of bibs, dummy. These bibs are for racing. They're just square pieces of cloth that go on your chest and back and which are attached by thin straps. They have your number on them."

"Your number?" Sango asked, still somewhat confused.

"Yeah," Kouga answered. "The numbers determine in what order all of the racers go down. If you have the number twenty-seven, then you'll be the twenty-seventh racer to go down the course."

"And your number changes with every race?" Kagome deduced.

"Yup," Kouga said. "Otherwise it wouldn't be fair. I mean, the first racers have the difficulty of creating the best line and path for the course and pushing all of the fresh snow out of the way. And by the time the last skiers go down, there's pretty much a set course which is quite rutted and difficult for the lesser experienced racers to manoeuver. So they always have to change the order of racers so everyone has a chance at every type of course."

"But that's not very fair that the course is completely different for some racers than for others!" Sango protested.

Inuyasha shrugged. "That's another aspect of ski racing. You have to be good enough so that you know how to change your tactics enough for different types of courses. It's all part of the thrill."

"Some thrill," Ayame muttered. "You're likely to fall and break your leg or something."

"I don't think there's a sport out there that doesn't involve _some_ risk, Ayame," Miroku piped up. "These numbskulls just chose this insane one."

"Says the one that excels in ski _jumping_," Sango giggled.

"Yeah, well..." seemed to be all Miroku could think of to respond.

They arrived at the ski lodge and laid their skis along the rack before trudging inside. After shoving through massive amounts of racers also retrieving their bibs, Inuyasha and Kouga checked in and received their own. Kouga ended up being twenty-nine and Inuyasha turned out to be number thirty-seven. With that settled, the group headed for the gondola. As they began the lengthy journey to the top of the mountain, Sango spoke up.

"So, guys... What's the agenda for this morning?"

"Well..." Kouga started thoughtfully. "First we have to take a few warm-up runs to get us all limbered up and ready..."

"...Then we have to go do the course inspection..." Inuyasha continued.

"Course inspection?" Ayame asked. "What's that?"

"You'd think that'd be fairly obvious," Inuyasha muttered to Kouga.

"Hey!" Ayame said, smacking Inuyasha on the arm. "So–orry if we're ski racing illiterate, but give us a break! We had hardly heard anything about it before we came here!"

Kouga sighed tragically. "I have a girlfriend who knows virtually nothing about my greatest obsession. How is this _ever_ going to work out?"

"Hey!" Ayame protested jokingly as she turned from Inuyasha to her boyfriend who she then proceeded to also smack on the arm.

"_Any_ways," Sango interrupted. "What's course inspection?"

Miroku decided to rise up to the challenge of answering her. "Course inspection is basically about fifteen minutes or so for all of the racers to slow skid down next to the set course and inspect it. They get to memorize the layout of it and start to plan how they're going to react to different parts of it. That way, steep inclines, sharp turns, or tricky terrain won't surprise them and they can prepare for their best possible run."

"Ah," Ayame said in understanding. "Makes sense, I suppose."

"Yes," Miroku responded. "But only the racers and their coaches are allowed on the course inspection and all of the racers must have their bibs clearly showing."

"So we're gonna have to take a hike when it comes around time for this course inspection, then?" Kagome asked.

"Yup," Miroku answered. "And then we can wait with them at the top of the hill for their turns. A bit before they go down, though, we'll head down to the bottom by a different hill and watch them come across the finish line."

"Awesome," Kagome said, nodding as the gondola came to a stop at the top of the mountain. The group shuffled out and collected their skis from the holders before stepping into them and preparing for their first run of the day.

"Greetings, Inuyasha," a slithery voice reached their ears just as the group was about to go down a hill.

Turning around, Inuyasha's upper lip curled in disdain as he regarded Naraku.

"What? Do I not merit a horrible morning greeting as well?" Kouga snarled at their rival.

Naraku flipped a superior glance at Kouga before turning back to Inuyasha. "You provide no competition for me, wolf-boy. Therefore, I have no need to address you."

Kouga lunged at the arrogant racer and was just barely held back by Miroku, Sango and Kagome. "Easy, Kouga," Sango said. "He's definitely not worth it."

"What do you want, Naraku?" Inuyasha growled.

"Oh, nothing much, my ruffled opponent," Naraku responded gaily. "Just thought I'd come over and wish you..._luck_ before I wipe the hill with your sorry–"

"Could we please keep this civil?!" Ayame demanded. "It's only a race! Jeez, you don't need to get so nasty over it all!"

"Oh, but nasty is my middle name," Naraku said in a creepy voice while winking at Kagome.

Kagome shuddered and shrank behind the rest of her friends. "Um...can we just go now, guys?" she squeaked. "He's freaking me out..."

Inuyasha glanced worriedly at Kagome before turning back to Naraku. "Leave us alone, Naraku. I don't need any luck to beat you today; that'll be easy enough on its own!"

"Say what you like, Inuyasha," Naraku said in a sly voice. "But I'll be sure to win today."

"Keh!" Inuyasha exclaimed, his hair flipping over his shoulder as he turned abruptly. "Come on guys; let's get out of here. I like to hang around trash as little as possible."

The others nodded and glared at Naraku as they started off down the hill. Naraku watched them go with a superior expression on his face.

"Heh. You should have taken my offer of luck, Inuyasha," Naraku said, narrowing his eyes as he fingered an object in his pocket. "Because _you're going to need it_."

..:V:..

"So what's the course look like, guys?" Miroku asked as Kouga and Inuyasha returned from their course inspection with Myouga.

"Ehn," Kouga said with a shrug. "Doesn't look TOO bad, I suppose, but there are a few tricky spots."

"Yeah, we're gonna have to watch out for that delay, eh?" Inuyasha said conversationally.

"Say what? Delay?" Kagome broke in. "What's that?"

"Well, remember how I told you that a race course goes back and forth as you weave around gates?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah..." Kagome said slowly.

"Well, a delay is when you go through one gate, turn to go the other way across the hill, and find another gate smack-dab in front of you. But after going through this gate, you don't turn again. You keep going straight, where you'll find yet another gate. At this second gate, you _do_ turn after going through it, and then you continue on with the rest of the course. But it's tricky, see, because you have to remember not to turn around the first gate, which at that point in the course, you're very used to doing," Inuyasha explained.

"Oh, so they try to psyche you out, huh?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, that and it's a subtle way to shift the course over to another part of the hill," Kouga responded. "Say the original course was kind of headed for some trees or something; then they stick a delay in and the course is back in the centre of the hill. I mean, it's not as if they intentionally set the course at the beginning to head for the trees, but ski runs often twist and turn on the way down to the bottom, so sometimes they can't help it."

"Oh," Sango said in understanding. "So other than this delay, the course is pretty straight forward?"

"Well..." Inuyasha said. "I suppose... I mean, if you're just talking about it going back and forth and back and forth consistently. But there's about a dozen pitch changes where the hill suddenly turns steep or flattens and whatnot..."

"Uh huh..." Ayame said, though not sounding very understanding. "I guess we'll just let you two sort all of that out then..."

"Yes, they better come sort 'that' out then!" said a steamed Myouga as he skated up to group and rapped Inuyasha and Kouga's poles with his own. "Come on, you two! You'll never be prepared for the race at this rate!"

"Aaaahhh...perhaps we should go..." Inuyasha said as if he'd thought of the idea himself.

"Yeah, okay," Miroku agreed. "These lovely ladies and I will do a couple more runs and then meet you at the top, 'kay?"

"Sounds good!" Kouga said as he and Inuyasha were practically dragged off by their irate coach.

Miroku chuckled. "Inuyasha and Kouga are always nearly giving Myouga a heart attack. They always seem like they don't want to train, or that they don't train at all, but truth is; whenever they ski, they train. Whenever they go down a run, they're trying to improve their skills and prepare for the next race they might be in. They also often sneak out to night ski. You can't see _quite_ as well at night as you can during the daytime, so they say that it also helps them prepare for unexpected obstacles in the course." He shrugged. "Whatever works for them, I guess. Me, I prefer jumping."

"Speaking of which, you really should try to pursue it, I think," Sango said. "You're really amazing! ...At, uh, jumping, that is." She coughed to cover her embarrassment. "But, yeah... I know you've competed a couple times here and there, but if you competed more, I'm sure you could do even better! You really are an awesome ski jumper."

Miroku gave her a considering look. "You know...who knows...I just _might_ pursue it. Ooh, now I've got an itchin' for jumpin'. Let's head over to the jump park; we've still got about forty-five minutes before the race starts."

"Sure!" Ayame agreed.

"Sounds cool," Kagome nodded enthusiastically.

The three girls and Miroku then headed to the jump park where they proceeded to goof off and have fun. Miroku gave Kagome and Ayame brief lessons on jumping and helped Sango improve her skills even more. The girls also begged him to show off his own skills for them, which he was more than happy to do. "Anything to impress the ladies," was his comment before getting smacked playfully on the arm by Sango.

Once their forty-five minutes were ticking to a end, the four friends starting making their way back towards the race hill. Once they arrived at the top of it, they noticed that it was starting to get quite loud and busy. Dozens of racers were milling and crowding around near the racing hut, stretching, warming up, and preparing their skis for the race. Fortunately, the girls and Miroku managed to squeeze through the crowd and find Kouga and Inuyasha without too much difficulty.

"Oy! Kouga! Inuyasha!" Miroku called as they approached the two racers.

"Hey, man!" Kouga said, looking up and waving a hand from where he was squatted and adjusting his ski boot. "We're almost ready to go here; just gotta wax our skis and strip down to our speed suits."

The girls cringed at hearing this. "Ack; must you?!" Kagome pleaded.

Inuyasha shrugged. "If we wanna win, we must."

"Well, it's just not...I mean, I...hmph. I just don't like it. It's...it's not cool!" Kagome said in a huff, crossing her arms indignantly.

Sango grinned and took up the boy's side as she spotted a perfect opportunity. "What's wrong, Kagome? Don't feel comfortable having Inuyasha strip down to spandex in front of anyone but yourself?" she asked in a mocking tone. Soon, she burst out laughing as both Inuyasha and Kagome's faces turned bright red.

"H–hey!" Kagome protested. "That's–that's not what I meant! I...I mean, you think even _I_ like to see him in–in spandex!? N–no way! I think it's indecent! It's wrong! ...Hey, weren't you on my side this morning...?"

Sango laughed again and smirked. "But I can't just skip over these glorious opportunities when you so willingly give them to me, Kagome! You left yourself wide open!"

Kagome hung her head, her face still red. "I did, didn't I?"

Sango put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yes, you did. But don't worry; I'm sure Inuyasha would be glad to strip down to spandex for you anytime!"

At this, Inuyasha made a sound quite akin to choking and his face, if possible, turned an even darker shade of red.

"What's going on over here?" Myouga asked as he approached the group with what looked like an oversized stick of deodorant in his hand. "Are you two being distracted again by these girls? Inuyasha, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"

Inuyasha thumped his chest a few times before letting out a cough. "No, no... I'm just peachy, Myouga. No thanks to you, Sango..." he muttered to her.

"Just doing my civil duty," Sango said with a salute and a devilish grin.

"Yeah, sure," Inuyasha responded sarcastically, before turning back to Myouga and his skis.

"Alright, ready to wax your skis, boys?" Myouga asked to his two pupils as he held up the object in his hand.

Kouga and Inuyasha nodded and flipped their skis over on the ground so their bottoms were facing up. Then Myouga took off the lid of the deodorant-like bottle and began to smear a substance all over the racers' skis.

"What _is_ that?" Ayame asked curiously.

Myouga looked up at her before proceeding with his work. "Oh, this is insta-wax. You spread it over the bottoms of the skis now, and in just a few minutes it'll be dry and ready to go. It helps the ski slide better on the snow, thus helping the racer to go faster, but it wears off after a few runs so you always reapply some before each run," he explained.

"Cool," Sango said, watching his actions closely.

"Skis all come with a layer of wax already on them," Myouga continued, "but that base wax won't wear away so quickly. It's durable and only comes completely off with wax dissolver spray."

"Why would you want to take it off at all?" Kagome wondered. "If this wax is so great and all, I mean."

"Well," Myouga started. "Every once in a while, and usually the night before a race, we'll take the spray and dissolve off all the wax. This allows us to then completely sharpen the ski. When the wax is on, we can sharpen the sides of the ski, but not the bottom. So once we're done sharpening the skis up, we pour hot wax on the bottoms again and smooth it out and dry it with an iron. But that won't get the bottoms completely even, so then we take a wax scraper and smooth out the bumps and such in the wax."

"Wow," Sango blinked. "I didn't realize it was such an involved process."

"Well, it's a true sport, and in order to play it well, you need top–notch equipment," Myouga shrugged as he turned and started applying the insta–wax onto Kouga's skis. "Though this wax process is far more important for GS than for slalom. In slalom, how you do is mainly based upon your skill and your fast manoeuvring capabilities, whereas in GS, it's all about speed."

"Crazy," murmured Kagome in awe.

"All racers from one to nine, please line up at the starting hut!" an official–looking man yelled out to all the gathered racers. Obediently, the racers called for shuffled forward; all of them wearing speed suits, helmets, and their bibs tied tightly around their torsos.

"What's the starting hut?" Ayame asked curiously.

Miroku jumped in to answer this question. "The starting hut is where the racers start the race. Individually, they go through this little hut and pause at this narrow doorway. Across the doorway is a thin stick that goes up to about your shins or knees. When the official man in the hut beside the racer tells them to go, they push off as hard as they can. Once the racer's shin touches the stick, it's brushed aside and the timer starts. There's usually a fairly steep ramp right outside of the starting hut, so the racer can gain speed and momentum right off the bat. And oftentimes, the racer's start determines how fast his final time is. The start can really be crucial."

"Wow, this stuff can really be intense," Kagome said. "I never thought it could possibly be so in–depth."

"Kinda rules out the everybody–bombs–the–hill–at–once–and–whoever–reaches–the– bottom–first–wins theory, doesn't it?" Inuyasha asked with a grin.

"Yeah, just a bit," Kagome agreed with a matching grin.

"Now, are you two pretty much ready to go?" Myouga asked, standing up and facing his pupils.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said as he secured his bib over his speed suit. "I think we're pretty much ready for when the time comes." He then recovered his coat which he'd tossed on the ground and quickly bundled himself up in it. When Kagome gave him a curious look, he responded, "These speed suits are freakin' freezing! I'm not standing out here for twenty minutes, freezing my butt off!"

"Damn straight!" Kouga agreed, zipping up his own coat. "Now; time to keep warm!" With that, he and Inuyasha started jogging on the spot, which looked quite humourous since they were doing it in ski boots.

'Whatever keeps your limbs warm, I suppose,' Kagome thought to herself with a giggle.

The little group chatted for a few minutes while Kouga and Inuyasha kept warm and soon enough, it was nearing Kouga's turn to go down the course. He took off his jacket and ripped off his zippered snow pants before then huddling beneath a long warm-looking cape Myouga provided.

"Are you ready, Kouga?" Ayame asked excitedly.

"Never been more ready for anything," he responded in a determined tone. "This one's mine. I'm all over it like a wolf on a scent."

"Well, good luck," she said before leaning up and kissing him quickly. Kouga looked at the others watching them and, surprising, blushed.

"Alright, that's enough of that," Myouga cut in. "Come to the line up, Kouga. And will someone take his pants and jacket down to the bottom? He'll be plenty cold without them."

"I will!" Ayame volunteered happily. "I want to see him come across the finish line anyways."

"Yes, it is more exciting to be at the bottom than the top," Miroku agreed. "Shall we go down too?" he asked the two remaining girls.

Sango nodded her head eagerly, but Kagome said, "I think I'll stay up here a bit longer. I'll come down right before Inuyasha's about to go down, okay?"

Miroku nodded. "Sounds good. Good luck, guys!" he called to Kouga and Inuyasha, who were moving towards the line up at the starting hut. With that, he and Sango and Ayame started down a nearby hill.

"Here; come on," Inuyasha said, grabbing Kagome's hand and heading down so they were right beside the exit of the racing gate. "We can see Kouga start off from here and cheer him on."

"Awesome!" Kagome said, smiling. "This is so exciting! I can't wait!"

"Hey, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha and Kagome spun around to see Kikyo and another tall girl with dark hair peeking out from the edges of her helmet approaching them. Inuyasha grinned and waved them over. "Hey, Kikyo! Kagura! Kouga's just about to go down!"

"Awesome," the new girl, obviously Kagura, remarked. "We'll stay and watch then. Kanna's on her way up, now. She wanted to take another run since she's in the later numbers."

Inuyasha nodded. "Cool." Then he got a sly look. "You guys ready for me to kick your butt again?"

"Ha!" Kikyo barked. "I don't think so, macho man. I'm all over this race, like clay on a pot."

"Maybe," Inuyasha argued, raising an eyebrow. "But I'm all over this race like a dog on a bone."

"Well, I'll beat you both," Kagura cut in. "I'm all over this race like a feather on a bird."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "What's with all the analogies?" she asked.

Inuyasha shrugged. "We always come up with new ones when we get together at a race. It's kind of like a game. Wonder what Kanna's will be this time...?"

"Probably something to do with her camera," Kagura said, rolling her eyes. "She always carries that thing around with her."

"True," Inuyasha chuckled, turning back to the starting hut. "Hey, here comes Kouga!"

..:V:..

Naraku glanced around at the other racers before casually moving away from his own skis, drying with the insta-wax he had just applied. He made sure that Myouga was busy helping Kouga get ready to go down for his run and that Inuyasha and his friends were distracted down by the racing hut before making his way over to Inuyasha's skis, which were lying unprotected.

Deftly, he removed a bottle from his pocket and proceeded to spray the substance within all over the bottom of his rival's skis. Once his deed was complete, he chuckled and replaced the bottle within his jacket's pocket and casually made his way back to his own skis.

..:V:..

"Racer ready; three, two, one, go!"

Inuyasha and the girls watched as Kouga practically shot out of the starting gate.

"Whoo! Yeah; go, Kouga!" Kagome cheered loudly along with Kikyo and Kagura.

"Go, go, go!" Inuyasha yelled, rapping his poles together as if clapping.

Kouga zoomed through the first gate and rapidly approached the second one. Soon, he was out of sight, over the hill.

Inuyasha grinned as they made their way back up towards his skis. "Kouga looked like he had a really great start. He should get a wicked time if he kept it together."

"Yeah, it looked like he really improved his jump start," Kikyo commented. "So I guess you guys haven't been _completely_ lazy, huh?"

"Lazy?!" Myouga exclaimed, approaching the group. "These two are the worst slackers in the world! I don't know how they manage to do so well..."

"Just because we don't like training with you doesn't mean we don't train at all," Inuyasha muttered.

"You _pay_ me to train you; doesn't that mean anything to you?" Myouga asked irately. As Inuyasha began to open his mouth, however, the older man waved his hand. "Anyways, no time for that now. You have to get ready; you're up soon!"

..:V:..

Ayame shifted anxiously as they waited for Kouga to come into view. "Ooooh...where is he? Didn't they announce he was coming down ages ago?"

Miroku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Ayame. It always seems longer than it really is. Relax; he'll be here soon."

"I suppose so," Ayame responded, wringing her hands. "I just hope he does alright is all and–"

"Hey, here he comes now!" Kagome said, pointing up the hill.

"Where? Where?!" Ayame demanded, snapping her head around. "Oh! Yay! Go Kouga!!" Along with Ayame, all of the other people crowded along the bottom of the hill began cheering enthusiastically.

As they watched, the blue–clad racer streaked like lightening down the hill, weaving first around one gate before shooting across the hill towards another. As he neared the bottom, he crouched down until he was in a tuck position and gathered even more speed.

The cheering and clapping increased and as the sun glinted off of Kouga's goggles and helmet, he shot across the finish line, pumping his fist in the air. "Woohoo!" he cheered as he swung his skis to the side and skid to a stop, flinging up snow at the closest bystanders. Eagerly, he lifted his goggles off of his eyes and checked his time on the digital time screen. The numbers read twenty-seven seconds and forty-three milliseconds.

Kouga then quickly made his way over to the small group awaiting him before he was hugged tightly by Ayame. "That was so great, Kouga! Your time was faster than any of the others that we saw go down right before you!"

"Well, we can easily see what place you're currently in," Miroku said. "Let's head over to the scoreboard before Inuyasha comes down."

"Sounds good," Kouga agreed as he popped out of his skis and walked over with the rest of them to where a woman was standing beside a large whiteboard. Every time a racer would cross the finish line, she would quickly record their time with a black felt marker. Checking over the list of times quickly, the group confirmed that Kouga did indeed have the fastest time so far. Every other racer was at least a half a second behind him.

Glancing back at the hill, Sango sneered and announced, "Oh, look. _Naraku_'s coming down."

Kouga squinted up the hill. "And he's looking pretty fast, too..."

The four friends watched as their nemesis screamed across the finish line with a time of twenty-seven seconds and thirty-eight milliseconds. "Holy crap!" Sango exclaimed. "He beat you by five milliseconds! That's so close!"

Kouga glared at Naraku as he responded, "Yeah, that's how close these races come to. But damn him! ...I'll beat him next run..."

Once Naraku had come up to the scoreboard to check the other racers' times, he smirked at Kouga. "Too bad, wolf–boy. Maybe next time...though, I severely doubt it."

"Jack off, Naraku," Kouga spat. "At least Inuyasha'll beat you."

Naraku let out a bark of laughter and replied in a sly tone, "Oh, now, I doubt that even less..." Not giving them a chance to respond, he made his way back to join the rest of the crowd, leaving them to look curiously at his retreating back.

..:V:..

"Are you ready, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked excitedly.

Inuyasha smiled. "Yeah, I think so. Just have to strip down to my speed suit. And come on; they're not that bad. It's not like they're skin–skin tight or anything."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Alright. They're not _that_ bad. But still; they should never have been created! They're...they're indecent!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Well, you go tell the manufacturers and I'm sure they'll stop making them or change them for you no problem!"

Kagome smacked him playfully. "You're making fun of me again."

"Would I do that?" Inuyasha responded with a smirk.

"Every minute of the day, if you could," Kagome muttered in mock irritation.

Suddenly, Myouga scurried up to them again, clapping his hands. "Come on, Inuyasha. No time to dawdle; it's practically your turn!"

"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" Inuyasha protested, his hands up as if in defense.

"Good luck, Inuyasha!" Kagome cheered, quickly giving him a hug and, shyly, a kiss on the cheek. Before she could see his reaction, she spun around and went back to where she had left her skis. Popping into them quickly, she half turned and gave a wave, saying, "See you at the bottom!" before turning back around and heading down a nearby hill.

Still in the same spot, Inuyasha was sporting red cheeks, though not from the cold wind. He half raised his hand in a wave long after Kagome had retreated from sight and there was a foolish grin tugging at his lips.

Myouga sighed in exasperation. "Are you going to make goo–goo eyes all day, or are you going to race?!" he snapped, waving a hand in front of Inuyasha's eyes.

Snapping out of his little daze, Inuyasha's cheeks reddened even more and he quickly turned back towards the starting hut. "I'm ready to race and win!" he exclaimed, heading towards the line up, Myouga behind him with his skis.

"Now, remember," Myouga lectured as they approached the tiny hut. "Keep your cool and cut in as close as you can to the gates. Tuck as much as you can; which should be most of the course for you. Don't let that delay catch you off guard and pick up as much speed as you can, anywhere you can."

"Gotcha," Inuyasha said, taking a few deep breaths as he became next in line to go down the course. Myouga gently lowered his skis down to the ground and Inuyasha lifted one of his boot behind him. Myouga quickly scraped off the excess snow he gathered on the bottom of it before the silver–haired racer clipped it into his ski. They then repeated the process with Inuyasha's other boot. Inuyasha lowered his goggles into position and limbered up his arms and legs as he waited. Soon, the racer in front of him went down and he moved into position in the narrow passage. The timer stick was in front of him, and he carefully lifted his poles over it, sticking them in the snow where racers before him had. This way, he was leaning over the stick and the only thing preventing him from sliding down the ramp was his poles.

Taking a few more deep breaths, Inuyasha went over the course again in his head, memorizing where he had to make every slight adjustment to give himself an advantage, as he waited for the official in the room beside him to give him the go–ahead.

After a few moments, the official man opened the window between them and asked, "Racer number thirty–seven; Inuyasha Dareshi?"

"Yes," Inuyasha confirmed.

The man nodded, checked something and then said, "Racer ready; three...two...one...go."

Inuyasha lifted one ski and slammed it down, using it as a way of jumping in the air, as he propelled himself forward with his poles. This way, he launched himself out of the starting gate, the timer stick brushed aside, and he started off the course with quite a bit of speed.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the first gate and whooshed through it, knocking it a bit with his shoulder, he was so close to it. He set up high for the second gate and rolled his ankles so he was already in line for the third gate as he raced through it. Inuyasha continued with this pace for most of the course, making slight adjustments when the hill steepened or flattened out, and trying to pick up as much speed as he could. For some reason, though, he didn't feel like he was going quite as fast as he was able.

The delay didn't take him by surprise and he continued right through it to the next gate where he then proceeded to turn. He was tucking down low for most of the course, and hitting the inside poles of the gates lightly with his shoulders. He saw the end and crouched down in his tuck as low as he could go, hardly paying attention to the last few gates which he breezed through. He raced across the finish line and skidded to a stop within the fenced in area, snowing all of the people just outside of it, watching. He quickly checked his time and found it to be twenty–seven seconds and ninety–seven milliseconds. Since the time was meaningless to him until he found out what the other racers achieved, he turned around and headed for the opening in the fence in order to join his friends.

He got a bad feeling in his stomach at Kouga's slightly disappointed look. "What? What is it? Is that a horrible time?" Inuyasha asked with a slightly panicked tone. Kagome, who had joined the others at the bottom, also wore a bit of a worried look as she looked at Kouga.

"Well..." Kouga responded, scratching the back of his neck. "Your time was a lot better than most, but my time was twenty–seven seconds and forty–three milliseconds and Naraku's was twenty–seven seconds and thirty–eight milliseconds..."

Inuyasha lifted his goggles on top of his helmet and gaped at Kouga. "Are you serious?! I was behind you guys that much? What the _hell_ went wrong?! How the hell did Naraku get ahead of me so much?!"

Kagome bit her lip and stepped forward. "It's okay, Inuyasha; I'm sure that you'll–"

"No, it's bloody _not_ okay!" Inuyasha snapped, smacking her outstretched hand away. "What the hell's going on?! This shouldn't be happening!"

"Oh, come on, Inuyasha!" Sango protested, angry at how he had yelled at her friend. "It's only fifty–nine _milliseconds_!"

Inuyasha growled. "Milliseconds are everything in this sport! And I should have been matched if not beating Naraku in them!"

"Stop making accusations!" Ayame pleaded. "So you had a bad run; it's okay. You can't expect to be perfect!"

Inuyasha glared at the group. "I didn't have a _bad run_. It was damn near perfect! So how come I'm so far behind...? What the _hell _did I do wrong...?" he trailed off with almost a lost and pleading expression on his face. When no one answered him, he turned around and skied back towards the ski lift.

"I feel bad for him; really I do," Sango tried explaining herself. "But if he didn't get a good run, it can only be because of something he did during it, can't it? Does he have to act as if something's wronged him?"

Kouga, who had been quiet during the little exchange, spoke up, "Something _has_ wronged him. Inuyasha knows his own ability, and so do I. He should have been equal to Naraku and I, if not better. It's one thing to be behind us by a few milliseconds, but he was more than half a second behind us! That just not right; especially since he said nothing went wrong on his run. This is so weird..."

"I agree," Miroku spoke up as well. "Though I don't have any way of explaining it, this is really abnormal."

Sango assumed a guilty expression. "Do you think I was too hard on him? I didn't realize–"

"It's okay," Miroku reassured her. "He'll know you wouldn't understand completely. I'm just wondering if he could possibly salvage anything out of this... He's so far behind now..."

Kagome was still cradling her hand from where Inuyasha had smacked it. "I...I think I'm going to try and find him. I mean, I think at the end there, he thought it must've been something he did. He's probably beating himself up about it right now..."

"Yeah, go try to find him," Miroku agreed. "We'll head back up to the top after Kikyo, Kagura and Kanna come down and hopefully meet you there as they prepare for the second run down."

Kagome nodded and headed off quietly.

"This race has taken a decidedly sour turn..." Ayame remarked gloomily as she watched her friend go.

..:V:..

"Did you find him?" Sango asked as she saw Kagome approach. They had all rejoined at the top of the hill after watching all of the other racers come down and making sure none others provided much competition. It appeared that currently, Naraku was in first and Kouga was in second. A couple racers were ahead of Inuyasha, placing him in fifth. Kagura was currently in first for the female division, with Kikyo only a couple milliseconds behind, placing her in second. Kanna was also close behind, placing her in third. The second round of racers had started to go down, and Kouga's second turn was nearing.

Kagome wore a disappointed look. "I searched a bunch of hills, but didn't see any sign of him."

"It's okay, Kagome," Sango said in a comforting tone. "I'm sure he's fine."

"But remember what Myouga told us the first day we met him? Inuyasha's never lost a race... This must be hitting him doubly hard..." Kagome said in a depressed voice.

"Hello, ladies," Naraku's slippery voice greeted as the black–haired racer came up to them. "Did I hear something about Inuyasha being missing? Oh, how horrible!"

Kagome turned and glared at Naraku. "Shut up! You don't care; you're probably gloating!"

"Oh, but I do care," Naraku said in sincerely. "It's simply dreadful that he's missing; and especially after that _horrible_ time he got on that first run." Naraku couldn't keep the smirk off of his face.

Kagome fumed. "You–you–! You no–good, dirty, inconsideratecreep!" With that, she swung her foot and nailed Naraku right in the shin with her ski boot. He howled and gripped his shin tightly, cursing. Glaring, he hopped off to where he left his skis with his coach.

"Whoo! Way to go, Kagome!" Sango cheered, giving her friend a hug.

"I hate that smug, conceited–" Kagome continued to rant.

"Found Inuyasha?" Kouga interrupted, walking over.

Kagome's shoulders slumped. "No. I don't know where he went."

"Well, he better show up soon," Kouga said with a worried expression. "If he doesn't show up for his second run, he'll be completely disqualified from this race."

Kagome gasped. "He wouldn't–I mean... There's no way... He'll show up, won't he?!"

Kouga gave her a concerned look. "I don't know...nothing like this has ever happened before..."

"Kouga!" Myouga bustled over. "Come on! The wax on your skis has dried now so you should be good to go. Oh, where is that other silly pupil of mine?! I didn't say he could go off and have a temper tantrum!"

"Oh, give him a break," Sango cut in. "He's been dealt a hard blow."

"Well, his break is over," Myouga snapped. "He can get over it. This is ski racing; what did he expect, to win every single time? And it's not like he could change it now; it's in the past. All he can do is try to get a really good second run. Which he could be preparing for _if he were here_!"

The others sighed dejectedly before Kouga shuffled forwards. "Well, it's about time for my run, guys. I'll see you down at the bottom."

"Wait!"

Everyone turned around as Inuyasha skated rapidly towards them. "You're here!" Kagome exclaimed, practically pouncing on him as she gave him a hug.

"Yeah, I'm here," Inuyasha grumbled. "But, Kouga, man; listen. Obviously, I'm pretty much out of the competition; well, as far as the gold goes, anyways." As Kouga opened his mouth to object, Inuyasha continued, "No, really. You and I both know I'm too far behind to fully catch up now. But you still have a really good chance at kicking Naraku's butt. With your last run, you were only five milliseconds behind him; there's plenty of opportunity to beat him by more than that this run!"

Kouga looked at his friend in surprise. "...You want _me_ to beat him?"

Inuyasha gave him a meaningful look. "Don't _you_?" he asked pointedly.

Myouga looked worriedly at the racers lined up at the starting hut before turning back to his pupils. "Kouga–" he began.

"I'm ready, Myouga," Kouga said with a determined look. He nodded at Inuyasha and lowered his goggles over his eyes. "Get me ready." With that, he and Myouga started for the line up of racers.

"We'll meet you at the bottom, Kouga!" Ayame called as she, Miroku and Sango headed for a nearby hill. "Good luck! And good luck to you too, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha gave them a half wave before quickly reaching into the breast pocket of his ski jacket and retrieving some of his own instant wax. Without a word to Kagome, who was still standing near him, he popped off his skis and started furiously smearing the wax on their bottoms.

"So..." Kagome began awkwardly. "You're not giving up, right?"

Inuyasha looked up and gave her a confused look before continuing with his work. "Why would I give up to _Naraku_?" he spat bitterly.

"Well..." Kagome said, scuffing her ski boot in the snow. "You said yourself that you couldn't win the gold. I just thought that maybe you–"

"Look," Inuyasha stated, rocking back to sit on his heels. "I don't care about winning anymore. It's clear that I'm not getting gold, so I guess I can just try my best from here. Normally, that's not a ton of inspiration, but I've got plenty of inspiration from other sources. There's no way in _hell_ I'm going to let Naraku show me up like this. Overall, my combined times probably won't match his, but at least I can have _some_ satisfaction if my time on _this_ run beats his. That ought to wipe the smug smirk of his face..." With that, Inuyasha quickly finished waxing his skis and he stood up abruptly.

"Oh..." was all Kagome could think of to say for a moment. "Well...I agree! Kick his sorry butt! He completely deserves it! I hate him and he's creepy and he's nasty and he's mean and he's scary and I really, really don't like him and I think that–"

"Kagome; calm down," Inuyasha said, gripping her by the shoulders. Strangely enough, there was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I'll beat him, alright? If not for the hatred between us, then for all the ways he's weirded and creeped _you_ out."

Kagome beamed at him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Thanks," she mumbled into his ski jacket.

Just as Inuyasha was starting to hug her back, they heard from the large speakers set up along the course, "Time for racer number twenty–eight: twenty–eight, thirty–four. Racer number twenty–nine, Kouga Haruko, now on course."

The two snapped their heads around to look towards the starting hut. "Oh, no! We missed him go down!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Well..." Inuyasha started thoughtfully, an arm still around Kagome's waist. "You wouldn't be able to make it down the hill before him to cheer him on from there, but you could go down now anyways. Naraku should be going down soon, and we can only hope now that Kouga's time will be much better than his. And then I'll be down soon after..."

Kagome smiled up at him. "Okay. I'll wait for you at the bottom. Knock 'em dead, Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, making a fist with her glove.

"Sure will!" Inuyasha replied as Kagome went back to her discarded skis and clipped her boots into them. "See ya!" He waved her off, but once she was out of sight, his arm slumped back down to his side. "How did this turn out so wrong...?"

"Inuyasha! Snap to it!" Myouga declared, scurrying up to him. "Soon it'll be your turn and you're not even stripped down to your speed suit yet! Hurry up!"

..:V:..

"Come on, Kouga!" Ayame yelled at the top of her lungs. Sango and Miroku spotted him coming down as well and began cheering loudly, Miroku rapping his poles together for more noise.

Kouga flowed rapidly down the hill, cutting so close to the gates, they could swear he would just go straight through them, instead of around. He was picking up massive speed and was already tucked low. He easily skied through the last few gates and practically flew across the finish line. As soon as he was able, he turned and looked at his time: twenty–seven seconds and thirty–two milliseconds.

"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. With an elated face, he skated off to the opening of the fenced in area, where he surrendered his bib to an official, and then rejoined his friends.

"Awesome run, Kouga!" Ayame said excitedly, giving him a hug.

"Yeah, that was beautiful," Miroku agreed. "You improved your time by eleven milliseconds! That's great! Now we just have to see how Naraku does..."

"However he does, I don't think I could've gone faster," Kouga admitted, breathing hard. "That felt like the fastest I've ever gone!"

"Hey, guys!" Kagome greeted as she skated up to them. "How'd you do, Kouga?"

"He was amazing!" Sango informed her. "His time was twenty–seven seconds and thirty–two milliseconds!"

"Awesome!" Kagome said. "Congratulations, Kouga! Let's see Naraku beat that...!"

The group didn't have to wait long for after a few more racers, an official announced over the speakers that Naraku was on course. They waited anxiously until he came over the hill and thenstarted tobite their lips nervously as he looked like he was really moving quickly.

"Do you think he looks as fast as Kouga?" Sango asked anxiously.

"I don't know..." Ayame said nervously as she picked at the fingers of her gloves.

They all held their breaths as Naraku sped down the course, weaving expertly around the gates, until he finally raced across the finish line. They quickly checked his time: twenty–seven seconds, forty milliseconds.

"Woohoo!" Ayame cheered. "He wasn't nearly as fast as you! In fact, I think he was slower than his last time!"

Kouga grinned. "Now we just have to figure out if my combined timebeats his."

"Um...lemme think..." Sango said, screwing up her face as she concentrated. "Well, uh...I can't quite remember what his first time was exactly, but I'm _pretty_ sure yours beats his!"

Kouga laughed, though it was a bit tight. "Well, I guess we'll find out at the little awards thingy right after the race. Or we could check over with the whiteboard..."

"Well, that would ruin the suspense, wouldn't it?" Ayame asked, grinning. "And besides, Inuyasha's about to come down!"

"True," Kouga conceded.

Ayame turned out to be right when after two more racers, it was announced that Inuyasha was currently on course.

"Come on, Inuyasha... Come on, Inuyasha..." Kagome started a little chant. Soon their whole group was chanting it, and even a few other bystanders waiting at the bottom.

It wasn't long at all until Inuyasha came speeding over the hill and rocketing down the run. He was in a deep tuck and practically took each gate out with his shoulder as he passed. He expertly rolled his ankles back and forth to easily carry himself through the last few gates and sped like lightening across the finish line. Everyone looked at his time, which turned out to be twenty–seven seconds and twenty–eight milliseconds, before bursting into applause and cheers.

Inuyasha skated out of the fenced–in area, handing in his bib on the way, before making his way towards his friends. He saw Naraku on the way and, seeing that he looked quite peeved, Inuyasha gave him his most condescending smirk. "Oh, what's wrong, Naraku? Did my time beat yours?"

"Smirk all you like, Inuyasha," Naraku declared, glaring at him. "But _my_ time beat _yours_ overall. Who's really the loser?"

"Only the one with no sportsmanship," Kagome spat as she and the others walked up to the two.

"Bah!" Naraku scoffed as he turned to skate off. "I'll see you pathetic twerps later."

Kagome watched him go with a disgusted expression before turning back to Inuyasha. "That was SO amazing! You totally kicked his butt big time!"

Inuyasha gave her a half–hearted grin. "Yeah... Well, that's what _usually_ happens. I still can't understand..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"So when exactly is the little awards thingy?" Ayame piped up.

"Well, after all the racers go down, the officials will have to tally all of the times. We can eat lunch then. It usually takes about a half an hour to an hour. Then, they'll probably hold them right outside of the lodge," Miroku answered her.

"Well, then how about we finish watching the rest of the racers and then head over for lunch?" Kagome asked the group.

"Sounds like a plan!" Sango exclaimed after everyone else nodded.

They all waited and watched the rest of the racers for a good half an hour more. Kikyo, Kagura and Kanna all had good runs for females, though their times were closer to Inuyasha's first run than Kouga or Naraku's. Kikyo's time was faster than both Kanna and Kagura's, and Kanna's was then faster than Kagura's. They would have to wait until the awards to figure out what placing each of them had.

The little group all headed to the lodge, though the overall mood was distinctly less cheerful than it had been earlier on in the morning. Everyone ordered their lunch and ate it quickly, all of them nervous over what the outcome of the race would be. There was little conversation, and the girls weren't sure whether to be happy for Kouga, or sympathetic for Inuyasha. As they were finishing up, an announcement rang throughout the lodge that the results of the race were in and the awards would be taking place directly outside.

Excitedly, Ayame latched onto Kouga's arm and practically dragged him towards the exit, the others following and dumping off the remains of their food in the garbage. Outside, a large crowd was gathering, comprised of racers, coaches, officials and other various fans.

As they were shoving their way through the crowd, attempting to get closer to the front, Sango was jostled by a rather familiar silver–haired young man. Turning towards him to tell him off, she instead dropped her jaw before shouting, "Sesshoumaru?! Where have you been all day!?"

Sesshoumaru actually bore what resembled an uncomfortable look. "Well...we got word that Rin's grandmother, who lives nearby, fell down the stairs and severely twisted her ankle. Since no other member of her family lives around here, and she doesn't have her G2 yet, I felt it was my obligation to driveRin to the hospital to make sure her grandmother was okay. We tried to get back as soon as we could, but apparently we just missed the race..."

"Yeah, too bad!" Rin piped up from behind Sesshoumaru before coming into view. "I wanted to see my favourite racers go down!"

"Gee, it's just like you to show up too late," Inuyasha muttered to his brother as he crossed his arms.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and was silent for a moment. "...Did you lose, brother? Is that why you're so bitter and unreasonable?"

Inuyasha glared at him. "Shut up! It's not like you care, anyway!"

"Calm down, Inuyasha," Miroku broke in calmly. "I'm sure Sesshoumaru tried everything within his power to make it here on time. You can't ask for more than that."

"I'd never ask anything from him..." Inuyasha snapped, tossing his head to the side.

"Alright! Let's begin handing out the awards, shall we?" a voice boomed out over the crowd. Everyone was immediately silenced. "Okay, beginning with the female division for this morning's GS race... We have in third with a combined time of fifty-sixseconds andforty-five milliseconds:...Kanna Yotaka!"

A small girl made her way to the podium they had set up and stepped up on the lowest platform. She had bleach blond hair which was almost white, and there was hardly any expression on her face. An official woman adorned her with a bronze medal and shook her hand.

"In second place with a combined time of fifty-sixseconds andthirty-one milliseconds...we have Kagura Ishitaru!"

The tall dark–haired girl sauntered up to the podium grinning, and stepped up onto the second highest platform. The official woman graced her with a silver medal and a handshake as well.

"And in first place with a combined time of fifty-sixseconds andtwenty five milliseconds...is none other than Kikyo Hakori!"

Smiling broadly for the first time Kagome had seen her, Kikyo slowly made her way through the crowd and stepped up onto the top platform, receiving a gold medal and her own handshake.

The three girls posed for a few pictures together and then quickly jumped off the podium and rejoined the crowd to allow for the male winners to take their places.

"Okay, then! Now it's time for the top male racers!" the announcer boomed. "In a surprising turn of events today, the _third_ place goes to Inuyasha Dareshi, who had a combined time of fifty-fiveseconds and twenty-fivemilliseconds!"

Inuyasha's head shot up in surprise. He knew his second run was better than any other's, but he didn't think he could have received anything with his first run.

"Go on!" Kagome said excitedly, nudging him forward. "That's you!"

Hurriedly, Inuyasha shoved his helmet and goggles, which he had been holding, into her hands, and started making his way up to the podium. He stepped up on the lowest platform and received his bronze medal and handshake just like the female racers.

"Aaaaand...oooh, this was a close one, folks! The first and second place winners were just separated by zero point zero _three_ seconds! This just came right down to the wire! So...in second place, with a combined time of fifty–fourseconds andseventy–eight milliseconds, is...Naraku Querei!"

"What?!" a voice screeched from the crowd. It was soon apparent that it belonged to none other than Naraku himself as he approached the podium with a scandalized expression. "That can't be right!"

The announcer gave Naraku an apologetic look. "Sorry, sir, but we tallied the scores and yours came in second. Best to get on the podium and receive your medal."

Naraku, with a high affronted expression on his face, mounted the second highest platform as he was told and received his medal in disgust. He refused to shake the official woman's hand, however.

With a raised eyebrow over Naraku's actions, the announcer turned back to his sheet of paper and called out, "Which means that our first place winner...with a time of fifty four seconds and seventy–_five_ milliseconds is...Kouga Haruko!"

There was a huge round of applause and cheering as Kouga jogged awkwardly in his ski boots towards the podium. He had a huge grin plastered on his face and he practically bounded up to the top platform. He happily received his gold medal and vigorously shook the hand of the official woman. Naraku jumped off of the podium before any pictures could be taken of him, but Kouga and Inuyasha stayed for a few moments to pose for a few.

When the excitement finally died down somewhat, Kouga and Inuyasha made their way back to the others, Kouga ecstatic and Inuyasha subdued.

"Congratulations, Kouga," Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice. "And good job, Inuyasha, for not _completely_ disappointing me."

"He means you did a _great_ job!" Rin translated happily.

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha brushed it aside as he continued walking past the others. "I'm going back to the condo to get my Tetsusaiga skis. Then I'll go try them out somewhere on the mountain. I'll catch you guys later."

The others gave each other concerned looks. "Do you want any of us to come with you?" Miroku asked uneasily.

Inuyasha didn't turn back around; only lifted a hand as if to wave him off. "Nah, I'd rather just hang out by myself right now."

"Okay..." Ayame called back uncertainly. "See you later, then!"

"Come on, guys; let's get some more skiing in before the end of the day," Kouga said. "I have to practice my slalom moves too, anyways..."

As the others started off towards where they had all left their skis and poles, Kagome stayed briefly behind. She continued watching Inuyasha's retreating back and saw how his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. With worry in her eyes, she whispered, "This has hit you harder than you've let on, hasn't it...?"

..:V:..

A/N Holy beeeeeep! This chapter is freakin' on its twenty–first page! What have I done?! collapses Now _that's_ been my longest chapter ever. I REALLY hope it made up for my insanely long absence, I really do! I'm sorry I made Inuyasha..._lose_ (ack, it made my heart bleed when I originally planned it out; I really didn't want to make him lose!), but sadly, it had to be done. It's just unrealistic that he's never lost a race and he never _will_ lose a race, so...I had to make it happen. And it'll set up nicely for the next chapter. (I'm warning you now, if you seriously complain and shout nasty things at me for making him lose, he and Kagome will never hook up! This is crucial, alright?! ...Eek, I should shut my mouth up now before I give away more than I want to...)

ANYways, it's not the end of the world because there's still another race, right? The slalom! And plus, Naraku didn't win, eh? Kouga did! Yay, Kouga! Go, Kouga! We love you, Kouga! You rock our socks! Wow, I've been writing all day and it's starting to do funny things to my mind...

But what DID Naraku do to Inuyasha's skis...? Dun, dun, dun... How will that ever pan out? Will he somehow get brought to justice? Or will he run away giggling and carve an evil hideout in a lonely mountain somewhere where he will continue to come up with devious and dastardly plots?! –gasp– Oh, the possibilities!

Anymewho, look at me ramble. Hope you've had a good time with this NOVEL I've written you and I'll be wandering off to write the next chapter of In the Shadows now... Actually, better save that one for tomorrow; I'm spent for tonight...

Okay, bye now; don't forget to leave me a comment about what you found cool, interesting, funny, disgusting or whatnot about the chapter! Here's a quote left by a wonderful reviewer, Hayai-hakai (though it was originally by Albert Einstein), "Only two things in this world are infinite; the stupidity of humans and the universe." Oh, and as a bit of a festive comment (courtesy of the comedian George Carlin): Santa Claus is so jolly because he knows where all the naughty girls live. Eh, heh, kinda crude, but you'll forgive me, right? ...Right...?


	32. Revenge à la Fluffy

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. But I do half-own a dancing monkey on a unicycle named Bobo. Dance Bobo, dance! (The other half is owned by Moonlightwolf)

A/N ...Okay, hello! –ducks as random pointy objects are thrown at self– Yeah...about that updating thing... Sorry to keep you all waiting so long –random dude walks by and coughs, "sixmonths!"– Yeah...shut up, you... Who asked you, anyway? –looks at all other unsatisfied readers– Yes, I'll admit, I was very late, in the wrong, forgive me, forgive me, grovel, grovel.

Now, as to _why_ I was late, there's one big reason. And it WASN'T, as one reviewer so KINDLY suggested, because of procrastination. Nor was it due to writer's block. No. It was that other bane we all know and love. _School_. I'll give you an idea of what my workload was like, shall I? Too bad, you're getting it anyway. I want it to be very clear that I did not not update in so long of my own free will. A typical day in the life of Super Ceech in the past six months was utter hell. Well, more like four months, because I did have time to update In the Shadows once in February.

Anyways, I took Biology, Chemistry, French and Sociology (in french) this past semester. And it was my last year of high school. This meant that everything was that much easier, right? Yeah, whatever. So, as I was saying, I had an extremely tough time. I had multiple assignments due each week, usually about two labs due a week, French and Société projects and essays due every other week or so... I oftentimes had tests for three of my subjects to write during the same week, sometimes on the same day... There were oral presentations that needed to be prepared and performed and such... Normal, everyday homework that I didn't even get half-done... And to top it all off, I had two large Independent Study Units to research and write for French and Société, and exams to write for all four subjects with hardly any time to study. Oh, and let's not forget that I had dance classes, soccer practices, and soccer games almost every night of the week. Now try doing all that, and THEN find the time to procrastinate. I'll tell you; it was a miracle I even got out alive.

I'm not trying to whine. I'm not trying to complain. It just kinda ticks me off when people accuse me of purposefully doing something as if to smite them or something. There was no need to jump to conclusions. I left multiple notices in my bio page to let everyone know what was going on with my life. I'm sorry, but I'm not about to make a false update to get your attention. That's just not fair.

Okay, I'm cooling off now. Really, it wasn't as bad as I made it seem... The majority of you are really, really awesome and I want to thank you for having such an incredible amount of patience with me! I'm so sorry I left you all hanging; I know how much you've been waiting for this chapter and I really didn't mean to put it off for so long... Please forgive me!

On a very happy note...King of the Hill had its very first birthday back in January! Yay! Calum drew a picture for the occasion and if you wanna see it, you just have to go to her deviantart account, which you can get to by clicking on her homepage link. It's swimming around in there somewhere...

Also, I've passed _ONE THOUSAND_ reviews! This is incredible, guys! Thank you so much! And special thanks to Shirka, who was the lucky one thousandth reviewer! Also, I passed one thousand, one hundred reviews, and the reviewer that made that possible was Mona! Thanks a million, guys, for making me feel so special!

Heh, heh, many of you had some interesting ideas of what Naraku did in the last chapter and what will come of it, but I cannot divulge any answers on those matters as of yet... You'll just have to wait and see... And, yes. I'm aware of the "typos" found in the last chapter. But most of them are not of my doing. I speak of course about the smushing of words together. This site loves to do that to me every now and then... We all remember the paragraph with Jodi on the chairlift, don't we? Since there is not much I can do, or since I really don't feel like grappling with the site, let's just move on and forget about it, shall we?

Alright, I don't have much else to say and I've dragged this out for a while so now I'll leave you to read a chapter which I think just may make you all like me again...!

P.S. to Kealilah: Ha! I win! I updated first! Your secrets are mine!

* * *

As Inuyasha flowed down various hills in his new Tetsusaiga skis, he could almost forget about his painful loss earlier that day. His new skis were more than he could have ever hoped for; they slid easily on the snow and they turned on a dime.

But as soon as he finished each run, his memories of the events in the morning came back to him. He kept running them through his mind, trying to determine where exactly he'd gone wrong. But nothing came of it. He couldn't come up with a truly solid answer as to why he was so slow on his first run. Maybe the pressure had gotten to him for the first time? Maybe he had made numerous tiny mistakes along the way and, in the end, they added up? Maybe he wasn't giving it his all?

_No, no, no!_ he shouted at himself. _None of those possibilities make any sense! There must be a different reason. I've felt pressure before, but not enough to screw myself up. And during the run, I felt fine. If I did make some mistakes, and they added up in the end, they wouldn't add up to that much of a loss! I was behind by more than half a second! And I _was_ giving it my all, dammit! Or very near close! Wasn't I...? Ergh, why am I looking for an explanation as to why I lost? It could have only been because of something _I _did... What the hell did I do wrong?_

Inuyasha sighed from his seat on the chairlift and lifted the restraining bar as he reached the top of the mountain. Hopping out of the chair, he made his way towards the ski lodge perched on the peak of the mountain. As a group, they hadn't been to this lodge very often, but at the moment, he was looking for the nearest place of escape. After locking his valuable skis against the provided ski rack, Inuyasha headed inside, head bowed.

At the cafeteria area, he ordered a hot chocolate and then took it with him as he journeyed to the top level of the lodge and found a free corner table. As he nursed his drink, he let his thoughts run freely through his mind once more. In doing so, unreasonable doubts inevitably popped up to question his skill and ability.

How could he have ever professed to being one of the top racers when he couldn't even identify what he did wrong during his race? That was something worthy of an amateur. And did he expect to win every single time? That was even worse.

But he'd been winning all his life. Granted, not _every_ single little race, but every big one that had counted. To make it so far, and to lose now was a huge blow to his pride, his self–esteem, his dignity and his sense of what he had always perceived to be right. Why even hope to do well the following day in the slalom race if he couldn't even perform like more than a mere beginner? It was obvious that he couldn't even discern his own racing ability so how was he supposed to win now?

Inuyasha snorted and thumbed the rim of his cup. What a fine sight he made, moping in here over his sorrow of losing. What would his father think of him now? All Inuyasha had ever wanted to do was live up to his legacy, but now that he skied with a heavy and doubtful heart, he wasn't sure that would happen. Confidence, and perhaps over-confidence, had always been his strength. Now that that had been, in one morning, stripped of him, how would he get up the guts to go out there the next day and race as if nothing had happened?

He wanted to bang his head on the table. This _couldn't_ be happening. Why him? Why now? After making it so far and achieving so much, _why bloody now_?

"This seat taken?"

Inuyasha looked up with a start. "K–Kagome? What're you doing here?"

The raven–haired girl shrugged and smiled. "I split off from the rest of the group a little while ago when they wanted to go into the bottom lodge for a break. I wanted to continue skiing a bit, so I came back up to the top. After a couple runs, I noticed your skis lying on the rack and figured you must be inside since, you know, they _are_ one of a kind. Thought I'd come in and see how you were doing."

"Oh," Inuyasha said softly. Then, tearing his gaze away from hers and casting his head to the side, he muttered, "I'm fine, okay? No mere race can affect me that much. So just go continue skiing, alright?"

Instead of heeding him, Kagome sat down in the seat she had indicated earlier and adopted a worried expression. "Inuyasha... It's normal to feel disappointment, you know. Even...devastation if it were your first time to lose..."

Inuyasha gave her a glare. "Will you stop trying to make something of this? I said I'm fine, alright?"

Kagome grit her teeth, but forced her irritation down. He was understandably upset and getting angry with him would only make matters worse. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I'm not saying you're weak or anything, you know? Just that it's understandable to feel a little lost. Everyone gets crushed once and a while, you know? And like it or not, Inuyasha, you _are_ human, which means these feelings visit you sometimes too."

"Crushed, hm? Thanks for putting it so delicately," Inuyasha said sarcastically, causing Kagome to wince.

"Oookay, bad choice of words there," Kagome admitted with a cringe. "Look, Inuyasha–"

"Save it," Inuyasha cut in shortly. "I don't need your pity, alright? You don't know what I'm _feeling_ so I'd prefer it if you held off on the therapy lecture, okay? I'm _fine_. And when I say I'm fine, I mean it. I'm not lying for kicks."

"There's such thing as denial, you know," Kagome said loftily, hoping to lighten the mood.

It was apparent her attempt failed when Inuyasha's features darkened. "Do you have to stick your nose in everything? Can't you just drop it and leave me alone for once!"

"Inuyasha–" Kagome started, reaching across and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Inuyasha knocked it aside roughly. "Isn't any of this getting through to you? I want to be left alone! As in me; by myself. As in you; not here, gone, lost! And if you can't figure that out, I guess I'll just have to leave myself!" With that, Inuyasha downed the rest of his drink, picked up his helmet and mitts from the table and started to move away.

Kagome finally snapped and stood abruptly up from the table. "Why won't you talk to me!" she demanded. "All I'm trying to do is help! And you're just pushing me away!" Inuyasha turned and some of her fire died as she saw the raw emotion reflected in his eyes. She continued in a slightly broken voice. "...Why? Why won't you let me in...?"

"Because it has nothing to do with you," Inuyasha stated sternly, hiding his eyes from her underneath his bangs. "Just let me deal with it on my own." That said, he turned once again and abruptly made his way out of the lodge.

With a sigh, Kagome sunk back into her chair and held her head in her hands. "Nice going, Kagome," she berated herself. "Real smooth... Now he probably wants nothing to do with you. And I thought we had started to... I thought we..." After a few halting breaths, Kagome slammed her fist down on the table and attempted to push her emotions aside. With a slight growl, she snatched up her equipment and also headed for the exit. She could only hope that skiing would distract her from the deep hurt she was feeling.

..:V:..

"Kouga, you go get our drinks!" Sango pleaded as she made herself comfortable at the table the group had selected to sit at in the lodge.

"No way!" Kouga refused with a smug expression as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the nearby wall. "I'm not serving anyone today; not after my spectacular performance this morning. You should all be serving me!"

"Boo!" Ayame, Sango and Miroku protested while grinning. "Come on..." Ayame begged.

"Too bad, so sad," Kouga taunted. "You ain't getting me up from this seat for the world. One of you guys go."

"Fine!" Ayame sniffed. Turning to the others, she asked, "Rock, paper, scissors?"

Sango and Miroku nodded and started to raise their fists.

"This is pointless," Sesshoumaru spoke up from where he and Rin had been silently sitting at the end of the table. "I'll go get your pathetic drinks." With that, he rose gracefully and glided away towards the cafeteria area.

Sango, Miroku and Ayame looked at each other and shrugged. "Works for me!" Miroku said cheerfully.

"I could go for more days like this..." Kouga sighed, leaning back.

"Don't get too comfortable yet, dirtbag," came a slimy voice from behind the group. Everyone turned to see Naraku standing there, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down on them.

Kouga leaned forward and rolled his eyes. "Oh, look; it's the silver medalist, guys! Let's all give him a hand; after all, he did _almost_ beat me."

"Ha, ha, your humour overwhelms me," Naraku retorted sarcastically. Then his voice went flat. "Almost enough to make me laugh even."

"Aw, did we catch you in a bad mood, Naraku?" Kouga taunted. "What a shame. You know, I'm very close to feeling sorry for you. And yet...so very far away..."

"Heh," Naraku smirked. "You can laugh now, _Kouga_, but when I'm through with you tomorrow, you'll wish you'd never been born."

"You think you can take me?" Kouga retorted. "And what about Inuyasha? Dismissing him so easily?"

Naraku laughed. "You saw his pitiful performance this morning. If that's the best he's got, my win is already in the bag!"

Kouga shot up from his seat. "You think you already have this whole thing under your belt? Well then, you have a whole other thing coming to you. I'm not a pushover, as I believe I proved today, and if you think Inuyasha's out of the running, you're dead wrong. What happened to him this morning was a complete fluke; nothing more. Tomorrow morning, he'll be back stronger than ever and you'll be the first one on his list of people to take down!"

"Oooh, your words frighten me," Naraku cried in mock terror. "But unfortunately, I don't believe them. If you ask me, Inuyasha's starting to lose his edge. So much for the great Dareshi prodigy."

"Who is this dude, anyway?" Rin whispered to Ayame who was sitting next to her.

"Another ski racer. Name's Naraku. Big time rival of Kouga and Inuyasha. I don't know if you can tell, but they don't get along too well."

"Gee, you think?" Rin responded, turning back to the "discussion" between Kouga and Naraku.

"Inuyasha hasn't lost anything," Kouga snarled back at Naraku. "I would think that his second run down today would show something to that effect."

"It was rather impressive," Miroku interjected. "I think you would have a mighty hard time besting or even matching it, Naraku."

"Yes, well–" Naraku started, but was interrupted as Sesshoumaru returned with the group's drinks.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he nodded to Naraku as he brushed past him.

"What did you just say?" Naraku growled in a low voice.

Sesshoumaru stopped dead and turned back to regard Naraku more closely. After a few moments and a quick once-over, Sesshoumaru's eye brows shot up into his hairline. "Oh, dear..."

Naraku got tired of being scrutinized and snapped, "What are you gawking at?"

Sesshoumaru blinked a few times as if nothing else in the world could surprise him after this. Speaking carefully, he responded, "A very pretty man, it seems."

Kouga and Miroku snorted and snickered behind their hands. Ayame leaned over to Sango and said, "Somehow, I don't think Sesshoumaru's looked at his own appearance in the mirror lately, do you?"

"Shhh!" Sango hushed. "He's doing us a favour; we can critique him later."

"Uh, Sesshoumaru; allow me to introduce to you Naraku," Miroku said gallantly, though still barely suppressing snickers. "He is also a ski racer and–"

"Ah, yes; the one who obtained a higher place than my brother in the race today," Sesshoumaru cut in smoothly.

"I think the term you're looking for there is 'beat'," Naraku replied with a smirk. "I'm the one who _beat_ your younger brother today."

"Are you now?" Sesshoumaru said in a non-committal voice.

"Indeed," Naraku said, smug expression still in place. "I'm also the best damn ski racer in this competition."

"So is that why Kouga beat him then?" Sango whispered to Miroku with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, even if you _are_ the best racer – which I seriously doubt – you certainly aren't the wisest," Sesshoumaru commented dryly.

"Oh? And how is that?" Naraku demanded.

"Well, you still appear to be in my way and any second now, you'll be sporting Rin's hot chocolate down the front of your pants," Sesshoumaru responded in an emotionless voice.

Naraku gave him a bitter smile before saying, "You're just as insufferable as your pathetic excuse for a brother!" and stalking off to another area of the lodge.

Sesshoumaru watched him go through slitted eyelids. "No one refers to my pathetic excuse for a brother as a pathetic excuse for a brother except me..." he said in a lowered voice. "This means war..."

"Uh oh..." Rin said quietly.

"Is this bad?" Sango asked curiously.

Rin shifted nervously. "Um... Well, let's just say the last person Fluffy made war with checked himself into a mental institution..."

"Eeeee..." Kouga responded as they all took a careful step back from the plotting ice dancer.

..:V:..

Kagome didn't know what to do with herself. After Inuyasha had stormed out on her, she had gone out skiing again, hoping to distract herself. Unfortunately, every time she skied down a run, all of Inuyasha's instructional tips floated through her head, only aiding in reminding her of him further. There was nothing to do on the ski hill that didn't inevitably trigger a memory of the two of them together. And, in turn, these memories always seemed to trigger a chain reaction that caused a twinge of pain to go through her heart. And so she had retreated to her shared condo, where she currently sat, staring out the window and trying to sort through the millions of thoughts running through her head.

It had been silly all along to think that her feelings for Inuyasha would come to anything, really. He didn't want her in his life like _that_, intruding in all his personal matters and wanting to be a part of them. And especially after only knowing him for that short amount of time. Who was she to be so presumptuous?

And yet...she _did_ want to be a part of his life. She couldn't help it. Even though he could be rude and arrogant for a good part of the time, when he let his guard down, he could be one of the sweetest guys on the earth. Kagome would never forget how he taught her so much about skiing, how he got those ice dancing tickets and backstage passes for her as a birthday present, how he bought her that beautiful necklace she had been eyeing that day in the town...

And all for her. Wait. All for _her_. Then did that not mean _anything_? Those things couldn't have been just out of friendship. He hadn't helped anyone else out with their skiing. He had only helped her. He hadn't gone so out of his way for anyone else. He had only done so for her. He didn't ask anyone else to the awards banquets. He had asked _her_.

Or was she just disillusioning herself? Hoping there was something between them when there was nothing? This fight was bringing all of her doubts into sharp focus. And yet...whenever he had embraced her, through a hug or during a dance...she just couldn't ignore the sensation it caused. She felt so safe and warm...so protected. It gave her the sense that her feelings were being returned. Was it all just in her head?

But nevertheless, whether he had feelings for her or not, she should never have pushed him like that. He had clearly told her that he wanted to be left alone and yet she hadn't been able to let it go... She just hated to see him in so much pain! All she wanted to do was help...offer him some comfort. But she should have known by now that that wasn't how Inuyasha coped with things. He thought that others would perceive him as weak if he opened his heart to them. But _she_ didn't think that way! He was one of the strongest people she'd ever known... But she knew that keeping his feelings to himself would eat him up from within. She had just been trying to prevent that...

Kagome sighed and leaned her head against the glass of the window. Regardless of her intentions, she had chosen her course of action poorly. She would have to apologize to Inuyasha later, but it this time it would be different. This time it would be with a heavy heart. This time she couldn't presume anything about the two of them. This time she wouldbe crying inside.

..:V:..

"How about this one?" Ayame piped up, indicating a hill. Miroku, Sango, Kouga and Ayame had decided to go out skiing again and this time, even Sesshoumaru and Rin had joined them.

"Too easy," Sesshoumaru sniffed.

Ayame looked at the black diamond rating with a raised eyebrow. "Uhh...mistake me if I'm wrong...but aren't you a skater; _not_ a skier? How are you so good at this?"

Miroku let out a short laugh. "Are you suggesting Sesshoumaru might less than excel at something? My dear girl, that's just not how he operates."

"Yes," Rin added, adopting a high air. "Fluffy must never be inferior at any activity in which he partakes. To be so would be like...really, _really_ bad!"

"Nice one," Kouga said dryly.

"Thanks!" Rin responded, happy as ever. Kouga rolled his eyes.

"Children do not amuse me," Sesshoumaru declared in a flat voice before starting to shuffle away.

"So sorry, oh great one," Sango said in a reverent voice as she bowed to him. "We shall attempt to put on a façade that is more appropriate for our age level."

"You do that," Sesshoumaru said, unmoved. "Meanwhile, I'll be going down that hill over there."

Ayame looked over and her jaw dropped. "D-double black diamond? Are you insane?"

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Stay here if you like. I, myself, have other things to do." With that, he skated towards the hill and disappeared over the top.

Shaking their heads in bewilderment, the rest of the group followed, albeit the girls took the run extra carefully. Though once they had navigated their way through what seemed like a minefield of moguls, they all saw that Sesshoumaru had stopped a little ways above the bottom of the hill. Curious, the group skied up beside him and stopped.

"Something up, Fluffy?" Rin piped up, seeing Sesshoumaru fixing his gaze towards the bottom of the hill with an almost intense or thoughtful look on his face.

"How interesting..." was all Sesshoumaru said before abruptly starting off again, picking up speed as he zoomed down the rest of the run.

"Ehn?" was all anyone else had to say in reply.

..:V:..

"Naraku, just how _did_ you manage to pull ahead of Inuyasha by so much in the race this morning?"

"Well, I know I have certainly improved since the last competition," the black-haired racer replied as he faced a crowd of reporters near the main lodge. "I've been doing nothing but training hard and always keeping my goal in sight. But, judging from Inuyasha's performance this morning, he may have been going in the opposite direction. It's obvious he's been slacking off and not taking this competition seriously. And that's how winners are determined from the losers. The person willing to go the extra mile will always come out on top."

"So you really think Inuyasha might be losing his edge?"

Naraku adopted a smug expression. "If you ask me, Inuyasha never really _had_ an edge. Up until now, it's all been dumb luck that's earned him all his FIS points. But this morning's race showed the only true thing he's capable of: losing."

"What about Kouga Haruko? He slipped ahead of you this morning to come in first!" one particularly intense reporter questioned, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she held out a microphone to the cocky racer.

"Ah, yes. _Haruko_," Naraku muttered bitterly. "It was just a fluke, really. I've beaten him in every other race, and I'll do it again in the slalom race tomorrow. That much you can be sure of. His technique is really quite amateurish; but considering he and Inuyasha share a coach, it's to be expected, I suppose. I think–"

Naraku was abruptly cut off as a shower of snow hit him full force and caused him to lose his balance and topple to the ground. Sputtering and brushing some of the snow out of his face, Naraku glared upwards to see Sesshoumaru standing not so far away, looking slightly smug.

"Oh, so sorry," Sesshoumaru said, as if in surprise. "Didn't see you there."

The reporters watched on for a few moments before one approached Sesshoumaru tentatively and said, "Are you not the older brother of Inuyasha Dareshi?"

"Why, yes; I am," Sesshoumaru replied smoothly. "Shame about his placing this morning."

Like moths to a flame, the rest of the reporters flocked over to the silver-haired man, leaving Naraku still on the ground, covered with snow.

"Do _you_ think Inuyasha is losing his edge?" a second reporter asked eagerly.

"Well, I certainly wouldn't consider it as such," Sesshoumaru said loftily. "This morning was just a minor setback; Inuyasha is capable of much more talent than this, as much as I hate to admit it."

"So you think your brother can come back in the race tomorrow?"

"If he keeps his head on straight and doesn't brood over this one loss. If you look at Inuyasha's history of races, you'll notice he's never lost a major one that's mattered before. It's not in his nature to lose. He _is_ a Dareshi, after all," Sesshoumaru responded.

"Hey! I'm still open for an interview, you know!" Naraku declared, standing up and trying to obtain the reporters' attention. Unfortunately for him, however, all of their attention was fixated on Inuyasha's brother.

"So why do _you_ think Inuyasha lost this morning?" another reporter piped up to Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru gave a small shrug. "Who can say, really? It's highly unusual. In fact, you'd almost have to expect...foul play." That said, Sesshoumaru stared meaningfully in the direction of Naraku, who was now brushing himself off. As Naraku lifted his head to stare back and the reporters all turned to look at him, Sesshoumaru suddenly said, "Oh, you're still all covered with snow! You know, I truly am sorry for that. Come on; I'll buy you a drink, shall I?"

Naraku glared back at Sesshoumaru, who had a completely straight face, and then glanced around at all the expectant reporters. Knowing he couldn't show a bad attitude in front of them, he responded through clenched teeth, "A drink would be...lovely."

"Well, off to the lodge, then," Sesshoumaru said, gesturing towards the building. Naraku nodded bitterly and turned to walk with the silver-haired man, always mindful of the reporters behind him. They passed Miroku, Sango, Ayame and Kouga along the way, all of which who watched the procession with raised eyebrows. Coming up on the door of the lodge, Sesshoumaru sprung forward in order to open it and gesture towards Naraku. "After you, madam–sir! Sir! I said sir."

Naraku glared intensely at the nonchalant Sesshoumaru before making a sweeping entrance through the door. Sesshoumaru followed and, snickering, so did the rest of the group. A few reporters branched off from their swarm and trailed in after to observe.

Once inside, Sesshoumaru led Naraku over to a table and held out a chair for him as if attending to a lady. Stiffly, Naraku sat down and Sesshoumaru excused himself in order to go get the drinks. Unsure of what to do themselves, Miroku, Kouga, Sango and Ayame discreetly sat down at a separate table, but one that was close enough to be able to hear everything that would be exchanged between Sesshoumaru and Naraku.

Sesshoumaru quickly returned with a couple cups of hot chocolate and placed one before Naraku before seating himself across from the black-haired racer.

"Thank you," Naraku said with a stiff smile.

"Of course," Sesshoumaru responded cooly. "Anything for one of the top racers."

Naraku eyed Sesshoumaru for a moment before saying, "I wouldn't have thought that the brother of a loser would be sharing drinks with a winner."

"Ah, yes," Sesshoumaru said, taking a sip of his drink and setting it back on the table. "Yes it is rather odd that it would turn out this way. And isn't it also odd that my brother would have his worst racing day when you have one of your best...? But I guess that goes to show you just how fickle Lady Luck can be."

Naraku eyed Sesshoumaru suspiciously as he wasn't sure whether the man was just commenting on the circumstances or actually accusing him of something. "...What?" he asked darkly, deciding on the latter.

As if he hadn't heard him, Sesshoumaru held up a small packet. "Sugar?" he asked obliviously.

"Wha–? Er, uh...no. No, thanks," Naraku stuttered, obviously confused.

Sesshoumaru nodded before tearing open the packet anyway and dumping the contents into Naraku's drink.

"Hey! I–uh..." Naraku feebly protested.

"Yes?" Sesshoumaru inquired innocently.

Naraku shook his head. "Nothing. Whatever..."

"So..." Sesshoumaru spoke up after taking another sip of his own hot chocolate. "Shame about Kouga coming in ahead of you, isn't it?"

Naraku gave Sesshoumaru a questioning look. "...Are you being serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sesshoumaru asked back as if the question had been inconsequential.

"Aren't you his friend?" Naraku pushed again. Meanwhile, Sango, Ayame, Rin and Miroku were attempting to hide Kouga from sight lest Naraku turn around and see he was right behind him.

"My dear gir–boy, we're not talking about my feelings regarding him, we're talking about yours," Sesshoumaru brushed him off. "So?"

"What's Sesshoumaru _doing_?" Sango whispered to the others.

"Just keep watching," Rin instructed. "Sesshy's a menace to the mind, I tell you. He'll spin Naraku around in circles so many times, he'll think he's seeing double."

"If you say so..." Ayame said, shoving Kouga's face closer to the table.

"Hey!" the black-haired boy protested.

"Shhh!" the others quieted him.

"You don't want him to see you. That'll ruin it," Sango told him, turning back to Sesshoumaru and Naraku's conversation. Kouga pouted for a moment, but kept his mouth shut."Well, I'm certainly a much better racer than that _Kouga_," Naraku was saying. "It's inconceivable that he came in first."

"Yes, he didn't really do anything to deserve that title, did he?" Sesshoumaru remarked blandly.

Naraku gave him an uncertain look before replying, "Uh...no. Not at all."

"Because you're the best," Sesshoumaru supplied, gesturing towards Naraku.

Hesitancy flashed in Naraku's eyes as he felt like he was being led on. "Erm... O-of course."

"And always will be," Sesshoumaru finished with a nod of his head.

Naraku had finally had enough. "Are you mocking me?" he demanded of the silver-haired man across from him.

Sesshoumaru's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. "Me? Mock you? I would never do that to you. Not to–" Sesshoumaru lifted his cup and directed the next part of his sentence into it, "–such a fraud as yourself."

The dialogue came out muffled and Naraku shook his head as if hearing things. "What was that?" he asked cautiously.

Sesshoumaru finished taking a swig from his hot chocolate and placed it down on the table in front of him. "I said I would never do that to such an outstanding fellow as yourself," he replied as if it were obvious.

Naraku adopted an uncertain expression. Deciding he wanted to get out of Sesshoumaru's presence as quickly as possible, he began to down his hot chocolate as quickly as possible.

"Now, now! If you drink that too fast, you might get a stomach ache," Sesshoumaru admonished. "Especially with all that sugar in it and all. You should really cut back on the sweet stuff, you know." Sesshoumaru cast a knowing look at Naraku.

Naraku lowered his cup and shot Sesshoumaru a bewildered look. "Wha...?"

"We have to keep our _top_ racer in top shape, after all," Sesshoumaru continued. That said, he downed the rest of his own drink. Pulling the cup away from his lips, he tapped its bottom rim down twice on the table before releasing it.

"That's our cue," Rin whispered to the rest of the group.

"Say what?" the others asked in confusion.

"It's time to conveniently pull him away," Rin explained as if it were obvious.

"But he's in the middle of jerking Naraku around!" Kouga protested.

"Yes, well, he doesn't want to overdo it, though, does he?" Rin asked back. "Come on. He's toyed with Naraku just enough to leave him a little baffled, but still relatively grounded. He's broken the ice."

"I don't really know what's going on..." Sango said uncertainly. "But it seems like you two have done this sort of thing before, so I guess we'll just have to go with it..."

"Trust me," Rin replied. "Fluffy has it all under control..." She got up and started heading towards Naraku and Sesshoumaru's table. The others shared a look before getting up and following her.

"Oh, here's where you've been!" Rin declared as if in surprise upon spotting Sesshoumaru. "We've been looking all over!"

Sesshoumaru looked up as if disconcerted. "Rin, can't you see that I am in the middle of–"

"Oh, come on!" Rin interrupted. "You can share drinks with..._him_ any time! We wanted to go to the pool. Right, guys?"

Rin turned to look at the surprised group behind her. After a second of silence, they all started replying at once.

"Oh, yeah; sure!"

"We really want to go!"

"As soon as possible!"

"The day isn't getting any–er–younger...!"

Sesshoumaru sighed as if faced with an obligation that was completely unavoidable. Turning back to Naraku, he said, "Well, I'm terribly sorry, but it appears as if my presence is required elsewhere. I hope that the drink has smoothed things over with the snowing incident?"

"Uh...yes. Yes, it's all...forgotten..." Naraku replied slowly, the wheels turning in his head.

"Well, then. I must be on my way then. Good day!" With that, Sesshoumaru stood up and followed the rest of the group out of the lodge.

Naraku watched them go with a smirk. "The pool, eh? If you think I'm a pushover, Sesshoumaru, you've got another thing coming... I'll see you soon..."

..:V:..

"Stupid girl..." Inuyasha muttered as he glided down the run he was currently on. "Sticking her nose where it doesn't belong... Where did she get off assuming how I felt? Never mind if she was right or not!... I mean, I don't care if she _was_ right, it's the principle of the matter! She's butting into private matters – my feelings are not open to discussion!" he declared emphatically as he skidded to a halt at the bottom of the hill and prepared to board the chairlift.

A few moments after hopping on the chairlift and fuming silently, however, Inuyasha sighed. "I guess she was only trying to help..." he grudgingly conceded. "And I was a little harsh... But still! I'm not some emotional wreak who needs to be coddled! I can get over this on my own... And I've only known her for a week and a half! Does that mean I should let her enter every aspect of my life?

"No...but I guess I could've cut her some slack... She was a part of the events this morning... So I guess she had already entered _that_ aspect...

"But this is an area of my life she could never understand! She doesn't know how important this is to me, or how crucial it is to my future career! This isn't just something I do for fun; it's something I want to dedicate my life to. This loss is going to jeopardize all that! She just doesn't get it!

"...'Cause I never gave her a chance to... I've never told her my plans for the future. How could _I_ assume that she should know?

"But generally you at least know when someone wants to be left alone!" Inuyasha argued with himself. "And it's not like I didn't tell her enough times _nicely_. She just wasn't getting the hint! How's was I supposed to get the point across without being a little nasty? Maybe _she_ was the one in the wrong!

"...It all comes back to what she was trying to _do_, though. She was trying to help me..." An overwhelming flash of guilt coursed through Inuyasha as he thought about this statement.

This girl had swept into his life so recently and yet had since caused him so much happiness. A myriad of emotions had come to visit him during the short time he had known her; amusement, frustration, anger, anxiety, joy, and this fluttering feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away as long as she was around. He found himself thinking about her in a way he had no other; a way beyond the friend–friend relationship they had established early on. There was something about her that attracted him to her and whenever he had held her in his arms, he had never wanted to let go... She was kind, sweet and considerate, and always brought out the best in everyone. Even him. He'd never been so open and comfortable than when he was with her and it was something he could get used to.

And this girl who made him feel so many different things had just been trying to help him. _Him_. He didn't know of anyone who would go so far out of their way and take so much of his crap in order to help him out. But here she was. Or _there_ she was, rather. He had shoved her away like a piece of garbage. Kagome didn't deserve that.

But now that he _had_ pushed her away, should he just act like a dog with its tail between its legs and beg her to come back to him? He'd gotten what he wanted, hadn't he? He was now free to brood over his troubles without her interference. And yet...she deserved some sort of apology, didn't she?

Ugh. Apology. That was his _worst_ area of expertise. He could shoot down a ski race course at speeds unimaginable, jump off a ski jump and pull numerous stunts in the air, outrun stalkers, fangirls and reporters, and yet a simple apology was enough to make him consider cutting his losses and running away to France.

And then again...him being in France wouldn't help Kagome any.

At that time, the chairlift reached the top and, frustrated, Inuyasha hopped off. The skiers on the chairlift behind him shared a sceptical look over having heard the silver-haired boy have such a heated argument with himself about something they knew nothing about. And all for naught. Inuyasha skied off with even less of a clue of what he was going to do about the situation than when he began the argument.

..:V:..

"So I guess when you said we wanted to go to the pool, you actually meant we were gonna go to the pool?" Kouga asked Rin as the group entered the part of the main building that headed towards the pool. The sun was lowering as the day neared evening.

Rin shrugged. "Why not? I _do_ feel like swimming and we haven't been able to go swimming together yet!"

"Well, _we_'ve been swimming already," Miroku muttered. "And it was a traumatic experience."

"Come on!" Rin chirped. "It'll be fun!"

Ayame smiled. "Yeah!"

"I don't know..." Kouga said uncertainly.

Nevertheless, the boys and girls split off to go to their respective change rooms to change into their swimming gear. Much to the boys' chagrin, Sesshoumaru changed into tight, navy blue Speedo shorts. But since they'd seen worse, they shrugged it off. Grabbing their towels, they headed out to the main pool deck only to come into full view of Naraku in all his glory. He was lounging on a lawn chair in his ever-so-concealing Speedo.

"Yup. That was what I was afraid of," Kouga said, sighing in defeat.

Miroku, Sango and Ayame all bit their lips and averted their eyes as quickly as possible. Rin gasped in shock and stepped swiftly behind Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, in turn, glanced down at his own swimming gear, then back at Naraku's and muttered, "So he wins this round..."

The others gave Sesshoumaru a funny look before starting to disperse towards either the hot tub or the pool. Before Kouga could dip one toe into the water, however, the door to the girl's change room opened and a group of five girls swarmed out. Upon spotting Kouga, they giggled among themselves and then approached him tentatively. As Kouga eyed them cautiously, the group pushed one brown-haired girl forward.

"H–hi Kouga..." she said tentatively, staring at the floor and blushing bright red.

Kouga looked around uncomfortably for some sort of escape. Unfortunately for him, the rest of his friends were looking on with great interest. Hesitantly, he looked back at the girl. "Uh...hey," he responded.

With the encouragement of her friends, the girl continued. "You...you looked really awesome today in the race." Giggling, the girl ran back into the group of her friends, her face flaming.

"Er...thanks," Kouga replied. Almost as one, the girls suddenly swarmed the poor boy, showering him with questions, comments and praise.

Meanwhile, all of his friends on the side were snickering among themselves. All except Sesshoumaru, who remained expressionless, and Ayame, who looked slightly peeved. Deciding she didn't like the situation, Ayame went in. Squeezing through the group of giddy, star-struck girls, she latched onto Kouga's arm.

"Sorry, girls!" she said loudly to the swarm around them. "But I'm gonna have to steal him away for a bit!"

Hearing this, the girls pouted and looked up at Kouga for confirmation. Sighing in relief, Kouga wrapped an arm around Ayame's shoulders and said, "This is my girlfriend, Ayame."

This apparently didn't satisfy them and the girls continued to encircle the two and pester them with questions.

Meanwhile, Naraku was getting up from his lawn chair and approaching Sesshoumaru, Rin, Sango and Miroku. "Well, well, look at who we have here," he said with a smirk.

"Ah, Naraku," Miroku said thickly, doing his utmost to keep his eyes locked onto Naraku's face and nothing else. "Always a pleasure."

"Whatever, vermin," Naraku replied distractedly. Looking around, he adopted a cocky expression. "What; no Inuyasha? Was he too cowardly to show himself? Too ashamed of his pitiful failure to come out in public?"

"Aren't _you_ ashamed to come out in public with that face?" Sango shot back.

Naraku raised an eyebrow towards the furious girl. "What are you; his girlfriend? Surely he doesn't have _that_ bad of taste."

As Sango growled, Miroku stepped in front of her and regarded Naraku with an extremely stern expression. "No, she's _my _girlfriend and if you speak to her in that tone again, I will make sure your voice matches your feminine features."

"My, what a disgruntled group we have here today," Naraku responded smugly.

"Was there something you wanted?" Sango asked dangerously.

"Well, I _was_ going to _congratulate_ Inuyasha on his fantastic placing this morning, but again, it looks like he's much too busy sulking to make an appearance. Ah, well. Maybe another time. I'll talk to you chumps later." Laughing, Naraku stepped around the group and headed over towards where Kouga and Ayame were still occupied with the swarm of girls.

"Well, hello, ladies!" Naraku introduced his presence. "What have we here?"

The girls turned immediately and a few of them swooned upon recognizing the speaker. "Ooh, Naraku! You got second today! You're sooo amazing!" the girls giggled and simpered.

Naraku flashed them a sparkling grin. "Why don't we leave Kouga and his girlfriend alone and talk about this over there?" he proposed, nodding his head back towards the lawn chair he had abandoned. In response, the girls giggled and swooned some more, and then followed after him eagerly.

As Kouga watched them go, he muttered, "I don't know whether to thank him...or to shake my fist at him."

Ayame shrugged and the two of them made their way back to the other group. As they approached, they heard Sango speaking to Sesshoumaru in an annoyed voice, "You could have jumped in at any time, you know. He was insulting _your_ brother, after all."

Sesshoumaru cast her a disinterested gaze. "My dear girl, there's a sort of finesse to these things. It simply wasn't the time. But have no fear; Naraku won't win _this _competition. He has little style..." That said, Sesshoumaru turned and made his way towards the hot tub.

Everyone except Rin rolled their eyes and made their way towards the pool. For the next hour, everyone amused themselves one way or another. Swimming races were held between Sango, Miroku, Kouga and Ayame, along with splashing and water wrestling fights. Rin joined in a few of the games, but Sesshoumaru chose not to "reduce himself to that level". For the most part, Sesshoumaru either lounged in the hot tub, careful not to get any of his hair wet, or lounged in a lawn chair, observing the others. Meanwhile, Naraku kept up his position in his own lawn chair, with the star-struck girls giggling and fawning over him.

Near the end of the hour, when Sesshoumaru and Rin were both sitting in the hot tub, the former leaned forward. "Alright, Rin. It's time."

Rin perked up. "Time for what?"

"Time to play with our favourite fellow once again," Sesshoumaru explained, nodding his head towards the ever-smug Naraku.

"What are you going to do this time?" Rin asked curiously.

"Well, first, you and those other friends of Inuyasha are going to do something to get his attention. And then I'm going to do..._that thing_."

Rin's eyes widened. "You're not!" she whispered, half in fear and half in amusement.

"Oh, yes," Sesshoumaru confirmed. "But here's what I want you to do..."

Once Sesshoumaru had finished detailing his plan, Rin lifted herself out of the hot tub and make her way over to where the rest of their group was holding a competition to see who could hold their breath the longest underwater. Getting their attention, she explained what Sesshoumaru had in mind. Grinning, they all nodded and got out of the pool.

"Hey, guys! How about we have a contest to see who can make the biggest cannonball splash?" Sango suggested loudly.

"Yeah!" Ayame agreed readily.

"Hey, I could go for that," Miroku agreed as well.

"Sounds like fun," Kouga said, nodding.

"What a great idea!" Rin said enthusiastically, as if she hadn't heard it before.

"Who should go first?" Ayame asked.

"Allow me," Miroku replied with a bow.

He then made his way over to the diving board and mounted it. Bouncing down on the board, he made a terrific leap more towards the side of the pool than the centre, and curled himself into a ball. He hit the water and a large splash flew up, showering Naraku and his fawning girls a few metres away. Emerging from the depths of the pool, Miroku jumped out onto the deck and then stopped in semi-surprise to see Naraku glaring at him.

"Oh, dear..." Miroku said with a shocked gasp. "I am _terribly_ sorry. Didn't mean to cause any inconvenience." With that, he walked back towards his friends, whistling.

Ayame was next up, producing a slightly smaller splash, but once again hitting Naraku and his girls, who shrieked as a result. One by one, Kouga, Rin and Sango also took their turns, making sure that Naraku was thoroughly soaked by the end of their little "contest". Not that they paid much heed, but Sango remarked at the end that Kouga had ended up having the biggest splash.

It was as Naraku and his girls were wiping the water out of their eyes and hair that Sesshoumaru chose to make his move. Rising gracefully out of the hot tub, Sesshoumaru sauntered casually towards the boys change room. Consequently, he had to pass Naraku and his girls on the way.

"Alright, here's where us girls must avert our gaze," Rin said to the rest of the group, looking away from the scenario that was unfolding before them.

"Why?" Sango asked with a frown.

"Just do it!" Rin begged. "Or you'll succumb to the charm!"

"Uhhh...okay..." Ayame agreed, obligingly closing her eyes.

Meanwhile, the girls surrounding Naraku were suddenly captivated by the man walking gracefully towards them. Rivulets of water flowed down his godly body, leaving a sheen in their wake. His many muscles rippled and bulged under his smooth skin as he took one step after another, each one bringing him closer to the swooning girls. The girls eyed his chiselled pecs and washboard abs with great interest, all of sudden forgetting about the black-haired boy behind them.

As Sesshoumaru was passing, he raised a hand and flipped a portion of his long, silky silver hair over his shoulder. The girls had to bite their lips to keep from whimpering. Their restraint was broken, however, when he passed them and they noticed his firm, rounded buttocks defined by his tight spandex shorts. As if that wasn't enough, Sesshoumaru stopped just past the group and looked back in order to deliver a coy wink. This was too much for the girls to resist and they all scrambled to get up and follow after him. Not watching where she was stepping, one drooling girl even stumbled and fell into the pool beside her.

"W–wait!" Naraku cried after them. "Where are you going? Don't you want to hear about my triumph over Inuyasha?"

Unfortunately for Naraku, the girls completely ignored him as they trailed after Sesshoumaru like lost sheep. The silver-haired man entered the boy's change room and shut the door with a click, causing all the girls to moan. One pawed pitifully at the door while another sat down and stared at the piece of wood that separated her and the god who had just entered their lives.

"Uh, I think it's okay now," Kouga muttered to the girls.

Rin opened one eye to check on the situation. "Yup, it's safe now," she confirmed.

Sango and Ayame both opened their eyes as well and noticed how the scene had changed. "What happened?" Ayame asked, looking to her boyfriend.

Kouga had a confused look on his face. "I'm not really sure... Sesshoumaru just kinda walked past them, flipped his hair and winked...and then all the girls just got up and tried to follow him..."

Miroku shook his head in awe. "That man is amazing!" he exclaimed. "He is like THE chick magnet! I am sooo–" he got a look at Sango's face, "not jealous!" he saved himself. "Not jealous in the least when I have my lovely Sango." He laughed nervously.

Sango raised an eyebrow.

A few minutes later, Sesshoumaru emerged once again on the pool deck, this time fully clothed. The girls all squealed at his reappearance and flocked around him.

"Why, hello," Sesshoumaru greeted them amiably. Noticing their eager expressions, he asked, "Would you allow me to escort you fine ladies somewhere to get a drink?"

Giggling, they all nodded while blushing bright red.

"Well, then how about you go get changed and I'll meet you at the entrance?" Sesshoumaru suggested smoothly.

"Okay!" the girls shrieked, running towards the girl's change room.

Once they were all through, Sesshoumaru called, "Rin? Would you like to accompany us?"

"Sure!" Rin bubbled. "Just give me a sec!"

As she turned to go retrieve her towel, Sango asked, "Doesn't that bother you? Him taking out all those girls?"

Rin looked at Sango as if she had three heads. "Why would this bother me? This is hilarious!" Shaking her head, Rin grabbed her lost towel and practically skipped towards the change room. "We'll catch up to you guys another time! We had a great day! See you later!"

Sesshoumaru nodded to Rin before turning to Naraku, who was left soaking wet and devoid of girls. "Good day to you, Naraku. It was a most enjoyable pleasure." With the faintest hint of a smirk, Sesshoumaru turned and re-entered the boy's change room.

Naraku growled. "Why that little...! I'll get him! I'll teach him not to mess with Naraku!"

Kouga rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, pal. You do that. Meanwhile, we're taking off."

The others nodded, grabbed their towels and then headed towards their respective change rooms. Naraku was left alone in the pool area with naught but a lone water wing to call his friend.

..:V:..

Kagome was still in the girls' condo when Sango and Ayame trooped in later that evening. The two girls were laughing and joking about something and Kagome couldn't help but feel jealous at their obvious happiness. Her friends looked like they had had the time of their lives when she, Kagome, was feeling lower than dirt.

Not wanting to spoil their good moods, she put on a bright smile and went to greet them. "Hey guys! What's up? How was the pool?" Sango and Ayame had come back a little while ago to retrieve their bathing suits. They had invited Kagome to come along with them to the pool, but she had declined, claiming to have a headache.

Sango and Ayame looked at each other and giggled. "It was hilarious!" Sango said. "Sesshoumaru made Naraku look like a total loser! Aw, you really needed to be there..."

Kagome gave them a rueful smile. "Well, you know I would've liked to be, but..."

"Oh, yeah," Ayame spoke up. "How's your headache?"

"Well, it's starting to die down now, but earlier it was really bad," Kagome lied.

"Hey, well if it's better now, why don't you come with us over to the boys' condo?" Ayame suggested. "We just came by to drop off our bathing suits now, but we were gonna head over there to hang out for the rest of the night... Maybe watch a movie or something."

"I don't know..." Kagome said uncertainly. She didn't feel up to a lot of fun and games.

"Oh, come on!" Sango encouraged. "You don't want to stay here alone in this dreary condo, now do you?"

Kagome looked at her friends' hopeful faces and grudgingly conceded. "I suppose not... Yeah, I guess I'll come."

"Yay!" Ayame cheered as she and Sango draped their wet bathing suits and towels over the back of a couple chairs. "Now grab your jacket and let's go!"

Kagome reluctantly took her coat off the coatrack and followed her two friends out of the condo. They made a quick dash across the resort to the boys' condominium complex and swiftly ascended the inside stairs. Sango knocked on the door which was almost immediately opened by Kouga.

"Hey, girls! Come on in," he welcomed Sango and Ayame. Catching sight of the third girl, he said, "Ah, I see you found Kagome! Too bad we can't say the same about Inuyasha..."

Sango and Ayame shot him concerned looks. "He hasn't come back yet? Aren't you guys worried? It's getting kinda late, you know?"

Kouga scratched the back of his neck. "Nah... He's done this sort of thing before. He'll come back soon enough. He just needs some time to think. Ya gotta give him his space."

Kagome bowed her head. _You couldn't have told me that earlier, could you, Kouga?_

"So anyway," Kouga continued. "Why don't you guys come in? Inuyasha will be back when he gets back. There's not much we can do for him. I'm not trying to be insensitive; that's just the way he is. So we can either worry about him when he wouldn't want us to, or we can watch the Princess Bride. Any takers on the latter?"

Sango and Ayame grinned. "I'm in!" they said simultaneously.

"Um...I think I'll pass," Kagome said, following the other girls inside and hanging up her jacket on the coatrack.

Kouga raised an eyebrow. "And what you would like to do instead would be...?"

Kagome shook her head. "No, no. You guys go ahead with the movie. I'm just..." she spotted the other set of doors across the condo, "gonna go out on the balcony and think for a bit." That said, she started making her way towards her destination.

"But Kagome!" Sango protested. "You can't go out without your jacket! It's too cold!"

Kagome waved her off without looking back. "It's not that bad. It's actually a bit warmer tonight." She opened the balcony door, went outside and closed it firmly behind her.

"Crazy girl..." Sango muttered. "Doesn't she realize it's still winter, warm night or no?"

Kouga shrugged. "I'm sure she'll come in before she gets too cold."

Just then, Miroku came in from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. "Who's ready for the movie?" he asked, popping the first kernel in his mouth.

Reminded of the movie, the three standing by the door eagerly made their way towards the TV area. Kouga popped the tape into the VCR and they all sat back to watch, handfuls of popcorn at the ready.

About fifteen minutes into the movie, Inuyasha came through the door, stomping his feet to rid his boots of the clinging snow. He brushed off any other excess snow and removed all his ski gear before he turned to the group already present in the condo.

"Hey, guys..." he greeted them, though somewhat subdued.

They all looked up from the TV to give him anxious looks, as if he were about to crack and fall to pieces right there in front of them.

"Hey, Inuyasha," Kouga responded first. "How's it going, man?"

Inuyasha shrugged and looked around. "Where's Kagome?" he asked, sounding if he was unsure he wanted to know the answer.

Sango nodded her head towards the balcony. "She went out there a little while ago... Said she needed to think or something..."

A flash of guilt flickered across Inuyasha's face and he sighed. Turning away from the questioning looks of his friends, he quickly put on his regular snow boots and made his way across the condo to the balcony doors.

As soon as the sliding door was shut behind him, Sango spoke up again, "Doesn't anyone realize it's winter? He'll need a bit more than boots to keep him warm out there!"

"I wonder what all this is about..?" Miroku queried.

"Yeah. Did something happen between them?" Ayame asked.

"Well... There is one way to find out..." Kouga mused.

..:V:..

Kagome was leaning over the balcony railing, watching as snowflakes flurried to the ground from the skies above when she heard the door behind her open and shut. She kept her gaze steadily forward until an unexpected voice caused her to start.

"Hey, Kagome..."

Kagome closed her eyes and ducked her head. Of _course_ it was him. The one person she couldn't stop thinking about and mooning over had come to torment her in person now. Life was _just_ that good.

In order to hide her state of mind from him, she set out to accomplish her earlier decision. "Look, Inuyasha. I wanted to apologize for earlier this afternoon. I was completely out of line... I mean, I should have considered how you wanted to handle the situation and should have just let you be. I had no right butting into your affairs like that. It was totally not fair to you. It was even kind of selfish of me, really. Thinking I could come along and fix all your problems..."

Inuyasha stared at the girl in front of him incredulously. "What are you _doing_?" he asked in surprise, though it sounded accusatory.

Expecting anything to come out of his mouth except that, Kagome turned around to face him, startled. "I–I'm apologizing..." she stuttered under his stupefied gaze.

"_Why_?" he demanded, still in shock.

Kagome gave him an uncertain look. "B–because of all those things I just said...?"

Inuyasha finally seemed to come out of his stupor and walked over in order to lean on the balcony railing next to her. Not being able to look at her, he too gazed out at the snow that was now rapidly descending. "Kagome... You shouldn't be apologizing... You didn't do anything wrong, really. I...I was being a jerk. I do that a lot, you know. I mean...you were just trying to help...and I blew up at you."

"But, Inuyasha–" Kagome started, but was cut off.

"Don't," Inuyasha interrupted, turning to face her. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want you to apologize for something that wasn't your fault. If you didn't clearly understand how I felt, it's only because I didn't let you. And therefore, the fault lies with me."

"But I feel terrible about it... Can you forgive me for the way I acted?" Kagome pleaded.

Inuyasha shook his head. "No. Because there's nothing to forgive. Didn't I already tell you?"

"Yes, but–"

Inuyasha held up a hand to silence her. "Just...listen to me for a minute." He turned back and focussed his attention on brushing some snow off the railing. "I...I've been racing since I was a little kid and I intend to keep racing for a long time to come... I've accumulated a lot of FIS points over the years, and I was hoping that this competition would be the one to tip the scale..."

"Tip the scale for what?" Kagome asked, a confused look on her face.

Inuyasha sighed. "I was hoping this would be when the important people started paying attention. You know...like provincial and even national team coaches... I want to pursue ski racing as my career, Kagome. I want it to be my life. I want to break records, turn heads and accomplish things no one else has. I want to be up there in the big leagues, pitting my skill against all others. But...this loss... All it will accomplish will be to show how much better Kouga and Naraku are than me. Not that I hold anything against them as racers... But this was my chance, you know? And I came in so far behind them as to be non-existent in the grand scheme of things..."

Kagome's eyes softened. "I never knew so much was riding on this... Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to make a big deal of it at the time... You don't need to worry over me and my problems. There are more important things," Inuyasha said.

"I can't think of any right now," Kagome said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder and shifting slightly closer. _This is something a mere friend would do, isn't it?_ she thought desolately to herself.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "How about having some fun with the others and enjoying your ski trip birthday present?"

Kagome gave him a flat look and dropped her hand back to her side. "Yes, there is _that_, if you're going to be difficult about it."

Inuyasha laughed at the look on her face. "Sorry..." he said mockingly.

Kagome allowed herself a small giggle before turning serious once again. "But, really, Inuyasha... You didn't tell me about this before because it was your own business and you didn't want to reveal it... I should have respected that. You don't need me butting into your personal life–"

"Kagome, will you listen to me?" Inuyasha demanded, a tad impatiently. "You know the life of Inuyasha Dareshi that's shown in all the tabloids? That's my public life. This; here on the ski hill with the six of us together? That's my personal life. You're part of that. You're in my personal life whether you want to be or not so it's hardly a matter of butting into it."

Kagome looked away with an uncertain look still on her face. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. What was going on? Why was she suddenly so sure she wasn't welcome in his life?

"If you say so..." Kagome said. "But I was still way too presumptuous. Just because I've gotten to know you over the past week and a half doesn't entitle me to know everything about you and all your personal problems. I'm just a friend, after all..."

Her last sentence stopped Inuyasha cold. It sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. As she kept talking about her error in judgement, Inuyasha eyed her closely. Was that why she was so upset? Because she thought he trusted her no more than a friend? Then this whole fight wasn't, to her, about whether she had been in the right or wrong...it was whether or not he had any feelings for her. _Well, of course I d–er...I mean, I...might...harbour some sort of...ahem...feelings for her..._

Coming back to attention, Inuyasha realized that Kagome was still babbling. _What is she still going on about?_ he wondered. _I can't reassure her enough, can I? Not with words, anyway..._

A split second consideration and deliberation made up his mind. This was something he had wanted to do for a while now, and something he knew he wouldn't regret. With a slight grin, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and pulled her towards him. Her incessant apologizing was abruptly cut off as he captured her lips with his own and she presently went limp in his arms.

Kagome nearly jumped out of her body when Inuyasha grabbed her. And when he kissed her, electric thrills shot throughout her body. This was the last thing on earth she was expecting and she went limp from shock. As his lips moved against her own, she struggled to regain control and start her brain working again. Finally realizing what he had been trying to tell her all this time, she slowly started responding more and more enthusiastically. His arms tightened protectively around her waist and she gasped, allowing him to deepen the kiss with a slight growl.

Feeling Kagome soft lips respond against his own, Inuyasha felt a surge of dizziness sweep over him. The intensity of the kiss was making him light-headed, but it was an almost welcome feeling. Kissing Kagome was a sweeter sensation than he could ever imagined and he was pretty sure that it quite thoroughly got his point across. The snow flurried madly around the two, but the heat they were sharing was more than enough to keep them warm.

When they broke away, out of breath, Kagome's face was flushed red. Not knowing what to say, she stuttered, "Uh...w-why...er...uh–" She was once again cut off when Inuyasha leaned in and kissed her once more. _Actually, I think we can just leave it at that..._ she hastily decided, giving into the kiss and wrapping her arms around Inuyasha's neck as his hands became entangled in her hair.

The second time they parted, they stayed in each other's arms, gazing softly into one another's eyes as they tried to regain their breath. Knowing that he now had Kagome's unwavering attention, Inuyasha felt it was time to put his feelings into words. "Kagome, I..."

A slight scuffing noise stopped the two teenagers cold. Turning their heads slowly back towards the sliding door, they saw it was open a slight bit and four heads were watching the two of them with unerring interest. Noticing that they had been spotted, Kouga spoke up. "Oh! Well, hello there. Uh, we were just...checking on the weather. Yup. Still winter! Hey, guys; wasn't there a movie we were watching?" he asked the other three above him.

"Oh, yeah!" Ayame responded, scrambling up and hastily retreating back into the condo.

"Yeah, it was at the good part...!" Sango agreed, following.

"Where _did_ that movie get to...?" Miroku muttered, getting up and looking around himself as if he'd lost something. Kouga and he swiftly made their own way back in towards the TV.

Inuyasha and Kagome stood stock-still, faces bright red. The moment was broken, but not shattered. Kagome let out a small giggle, and Inuyasha gave her a soft smile. Knowing he could tell her how he felt later, he backed up and gestured towards the door. "Wanna go watch a movie?" he asked.

Kagome nodded, letting out another giggle. "Yeah..." she said. "Plus...it's kinda cold out here, you know?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed, holding the door open for her before following her inside. "Maybe we should have brought our jackets..."

* * *

A/N There. You see? An extra long chapter (though not as long as the last one – this one was only on its eighteenth page) full of humour and muchos fluff at the end.Man, there was an unusual amount of angst earlier, though, wasn't there? At least, for this fic. We've never seen anything like it before! Le gasp!And what was that? Inuyasha and Kagome FINALLY kissed? Who woulda thunk it...?

Yay! Naraku humiliated à la Sesshoumaru. Go Fluffy! Did anyone drool on their keyboards when he walked by the fangirls? If so, you might wanna clean that up...

Anymewho, gotta get going so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you thought and...ahem...I'll try to update the next chapter a little sooner this time, okay? And as a last farewell, here's a quote left by Inu's Only: Three could keep a secret if two of them were dead. Ciao for now!


	33. All Fun and Games Until

Disclaimer: Own Inuyasha? It's not happening. –Ten million years later– –sigh– Still not happening...

A/N Hello all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! And Happy Second Birthday to King of the Hill! Yes, I know it's sad and that I've only updated this story like...once in the past year, but that will all change soon! I was just adjusting to my new home and lifestyle here at university these past four to five months and now I'm ready to get back in the saddle again. I had a hard time, and have decided to switch faculty and programs from Science–Physics to Arts–General to pursue areas of more interest to me. In any case, here I am.

Congratulations to harualea for being the 1200th reviewer and to Boylover929 for being the 1300th reviewer!

P.S. Praise and flattering comments get you further with people –cough–me–cough– than threats.

P.S.S. I can't believe I beat a certain author bearing a name starting with 'K' and ending in 'ealilah'. I am thoroughly ashamed of her. –pointed look–

* * *

A loud banging roused a groggy Inuyasha early the next morning. Cursing under his breath, he cracked open his bleary eyes and peered over at his alarm clock. 

"... ... ... ...Bloody 'ell... Fibe dirty inh de mornin'..." was all he got out before his face slammed into his pillow again, preparing for another few hours of sleep.

But the sleep Gods were not smiling down kindly on Inuyasha that morning. The banging continued. "Goddamm–yyaaaahhh," Inuyasha yawned in the middle of his curse word. "S'not natural..."

With a grunt and a burst of willpower, Inuyasha succeeded in falling to the floor, tangled in his sheets. "S'not worth it..." he decided when his limbs refused to move anymore. But try as he might to ignore it, the noise persisted and increased in volume... It sounded like someone was trying to break down their condo door.

"DARESHI!" a voice roared.

"Not...here right now..." Inuyasha mumbled, half asleep. "Leave a message..."

"What the hell _is_ that?" Kouga's voice drifted in, a little more coherent than Inuyasha's own, but no more awake.

"Sounds like we have a visitor," Miroku's wry voice piped up. "And it sounds that if one of us doesn't let them in soon, we'll also have a broken door on our hands."

"So go answer it," Kouga answered back, his tone making it very clear that he himself was going nowhere.

A sigh was heard and the shuffling footsteps of Miroku, who was ever more of a morning person than the other two, made their way towards the disturbance. The banging abruptly ceased as Miroku opened the door with a creak. "Why are–oh. What are you doing here at this time of the morning? And why do you have that?" Miroku's was heard, filled with strained politeness.

"Where is Dareshi?" a familiar voice snarled. There were sounds of Miroku being shoved out of the way as the intruder stormed into the condo and made his way towards the bedrooms. Inuyasha vaguely heard his door slam open and footsteps make their way towards him. "Inuyasha...where is your goddamned brother?" the same voice growled.

"Hhhnnn..." was all Inuyasha said as he rolled over, turning his back to the stranger.

"Really, what is the meaning of this?" Miroku asked, his tone no longer polite.

The intruder took a few deep breaths. "His...his _brother_... That...that...ugh, where is he, Dareshi?"

When a pillow slammed down on his face, Inuyasha finally decided he could no longer ignore the disruption, no matter how badly he wanted to go back to sleep. "What th' 'ell?" he demanded groggily as he opened his eyes once again. The sight of Naraku standing above him woke him up fully and he sprang to his feet. "Gah! What're you doing here? ...And why do you have pizza with you?"

"Got a new job as pizza delivery or sum'n'?" Kouga asked sleepily as he entered the room as well.

Naraku shook with barely suppressed rage. "No!" he snapped. Pointing at Inuyasha, he snarled, "Your _brother_ had twenty-two of these delivered to _my_ condo at two thirty in the morning! I want his head!"

Inuyasha blinked. "I think he's using it right now..."

"And it really wouldn't go with your outfit," Miroku piped up helpfully.

"Where is he?" Naraku demanded once again, slowly and meticulously, his lips twitching.

Inuyasha shrugged. "How should I know? He's always moving around... I haven't seen him since early yesterday afternoon."

"Hang on," Miroku cut in. "How do you even know they were from Sesshoumaru? Anyone could have sent these pizzas."

"Oh, it was him," Naraku said confidently. "Just look at this!" He shoved the pizza box towards Miroku.

Upon opening it, Miroku saw that there was writing on the top of the pizza via little cinnamon heart candies: _OMG, we're so totally like your biggest fans ever! Enjoy!_

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Seems like it's from some fangirls... Where did you get the notion it was from Sesshoumaru?"

"Oh, it's from him alright!" Naraku insisted. "Who says 'OMG' and 'so totally like' in a message?"

"Um...crazy fan girls...?" Kouga took a stab.

"Oh, no... No, no, no... Only _he_ could have done this..." There was a mad glint in Naraku's eyes.

"Rrrrriiiigghht..." Miroku said slowly, eyeing Naraku warily.

Inuyasha was just staring at his rival blankly. "You're messed up," he said finally.

Naraku let out another animalistic snarl before snatching the pizza back. "You'll see! Mark my words, it was him!" With that, he shoved his way past Kouga and made his exit out of the boys' condo.

"Sesshoumaru's really messing with his head, isn't he?" Kouga said while scratching his head.

"Yeah..." Miroku responded. "Remind me never to get on his bad side..."

"Anyways, Inuyasha," Kouga said. "We should probably just get ready for the day and get some early warmup skiing done."

Inuyasha yawned loudly. "Yeah, you're probably right. Man, what a horrific wake up call..." he muttered as he headed for the bathroom.

The boys quickly got washed and dressed before starting to suit up for the day. Once they were all bundled up, they grabbed their skis and poles and headed out so they could go collect the girls. They were just clunking down the stairs when Naraku rudely shoved past them with a haughty air. He looked smug about something. However, that expression changed as he opened the condo door at the bottom level to see a crowd of reporters standing outside. They were all focused on the man in front of them, Sesshoumaru, who currently had his back to them. But as soon as the condo door opened, all attention was turned to the new arrivals and Sesshoumaru greeted Naraku with an almost jovial air.

"And here is the generous fellow now!" he announced and then smoothly melted away into the crowd that quickly advanced and surrounded a now confused Naraku.

Naraku didn't have to wait long for someone to clear up his baffled thoughts. A pushy female reporter with frayed brown hair and star-studded glasses shoved a microphone in his face and asked hurriedly, "Is Sesshoumaru Dareshi correct? Is it true you have promised to donate _five thousand dollars_ to a children's charity of your choosing?"

"I–er...WHAT?" Naraku shrieked, a look of absolute horror on his face.

Sesshoumaru reappeared at his shoulder without warning. "Mr. Querei here didn't expect his intentions to be made public so soon," he explained breezily to the press. "But I felt it absolutely essential that his fans truly know the greatness of his character. I'm sure anyone would agree with me."

As Naraku gaped at him like a fish, the reporters, if possible, crowded in even closer.

"What prompted you to suddenly contribute this generous donation?" asked a man with a bushy moustache and rather large bald patch on the crown of his head. "For a seventeen year old FIS racer with no time for an extra job, this is quite a sum you're letting go of, and yet you still found it in your heart to think of the children!"

"Uhh...yeah..." Naraku said wide-eyed, swallowing a few times to wet his dried-out throat. Gritting his teeth, he attempted to play along as he plotted Sesshoumaru's demise in his head. "I...like children... They're small...and then...they grow...um..."

"Naraku believes that the children are our future and we should cherish and love them, and aide their circumstances as much as possible," Sesshoumaru interpreted smoothly.

Tears sprung to a few of the reporters' eyes as even more questions assaulted the pair and no one noticed as three other boys squeezed through the crowd and left the scene behind them.

"That was...interesting," Kouga said for lack of a better word as the boys started making their way towards the girls' condo.

"Huh," was all Inuyasha had to say about the situation.

"Holy cow..." Miroku breathed, looking around. "The snow really came down hard last night! We'll be lucky if the race hill's groomed down in time... The ski racks over at the lodge are halfway buried!"

"Yeah, you're right," Inuyasha agreed. "That was quite a snowfall."

Miroku's look of awe turned sly in a blink of an eye as he shot a sideways glance at his friend. "Tch...not like _you_ noticed. You were just a bit preoccupied, huh?" He noted with satisfaction that Inuyasha's cheeks immediately brightened to a rosy colour that he suspected had nothing to do with the cold day.

"I–I don't know what you're talking about," Inuyasha stammered while looking everywhere but at his friends.

"Oh, of course not," Miroku replied sagely. "You didn't kiss Kagome to near oblivion last night on the balcony and Kouga doesn't use bobby pins sometimes to keep his hair in check." At this comment, Kouga abruptly spun and made violent cutting motions across his throat in Miroku's face while delivering his deadliest glare. "Oh, what are you worried about?" Miroku questioned irritably. "You already caught a girlfriend; you don't have to worry about being manly."

"It's just not cool!" Kouga whispered frantically. "So be _quiet_!"

Inuyasha laughed at this...until Miroku turned back to him with that creepy all-knowing look on his face again. Then he abruptly choked on his laughs and jerkily looked away, showing an intense and sudden fascination in the sky. "You couldn't possibly think you're off the hook, could you?" Miroku asked him with a hint of amusement.

"I had kind of hoped so, yeah," Inuyasha replied awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"Then clearly you have not been in Miroku's presence enough when he's trying to make his friends as uncomfortable as all hell," Miroku retorted matter-of-fact.

"I'm quickly learning," Inuyasha replied earnestly.

"You're very good at avoiding the topic of discussion," Miroku told him amiably.

"I like that about myself," Inuyasha said, nodding.

"You need to stop," Miroku said pointedly. Inuyasha gulped. "So...how was it?" Miroku wiggled his eyebrows, his demeanor completely changed.

Inuyasha's blush grew brighter as the events of the previous night replayed in his mind. Kagome in his arms...her flowing hair...her shining eyes...her soft lips–

Kouga's cough brought him back from his reverie. At his friends' expectant looks, Inuyasha stammered, "Uh...i-it was..." A dreamy look slipped onto his face. "It was perfect. She was so–"

"Yeah, yeah," Kouga cut in, waving him off. "Are you going to ask her out though?"

Inuyasha gave him a blank look. "I have to _ask_ her? After that? We aren't already...out?"

Miroku rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead. "Inuyasha...Inuyasha... Of _course_ you have to ask her out! Otherwise you're just two friends that completely overstepped the friendship boundaries."

"So we're still 'in'...with like a foot 'out'?" Inuyasha asked, totally baffled.

Miroku sighed as if trying to deal with an extremely difficult child. "This isn't the Hokey Pokey, but if you wish to put in those completely ridiculous terms, then yes."

"Bottom line, Inuyasha...just ask her out," Kouga supplied. "Trust me, after what happened between the two of you last night, there's no way she'd say no."

"She'd say no?" Inuyasha asked frantically.

"No!" Kouga seethed, adopting the same expression as Miroku. "I said there's _no way_ she'd say no."

"But what if she says no?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly uncertain of the whole situation.

"Gah!" Kouga yelled, totally frustrated. "Just ask!" With that, he and Miroku took off at a faster pace for the girls' building, leaving Inuyasha behind.

"But, guys...!" Inuyasha called feebly behind them. "What happens if she says no...?"

..:V:..

"But guys...what happens if he doesn't ask me out?" Kagome whined as she grabbed a few more Fruit Loops out of the cereal box and ate them dry. The boys had told the girls their intentions to get some early skiing in before the race that day and so the girls had gone to bed extra early. Unfortunately, their bodies were now trained into getting a certain amount of sleep and so they had each woken up within a few minutes of each other around quarter after six. To wheedle away the time until a more normal morning hour came along, they were sitting in their living room, talking and passing a box of Fruit Loops around.

Sango rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time. "I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about, Kagome. You damn near fainted during that kiss he gave you last night; I really don't think there's a question about where his intentions lie."

Kagome tried to ignore the fluttery feeling she received in her stomach when Sango mentioned that incident, but to no avail. Against her will, a small giggle escaped her. "I _did_ almost faint, didn't I? But that kiss he gave me..." she sighed, "It was sooo gooooood...mmm..." She pressed her lips together as she recalled the sensation.

"Aaaaaand now she's unreachable," Sango noted as she popped a few more Fruit Loops in her mouth.

"Not coming back any time soon," Ayame agreed with a nod of her head.

The two friends leaned back and enjoyed the silence as Kagome was lost in her memories. But their moment of respite was soon broken when Kagome once more piped up.

"Do you think he'll ask me out?"

"Argh!" Sango cried, grabbing a pillow and smacking Kagome directly in the face with it. Kagome shrieked and cried in protest, soon grabbing her own pillow and whacking Ayame when she missed Sango. They were all on the verge of a great pillow pyjama war when a knock came on their door. Checking the clock which read six–thirty, the girls frowned at one another and then went as a group to see who it was.

Though they weren't thinking it could be anyone else, the girls were still surprised to see the boys standing on the landing outside their door, all suited up and ready to ski. Ayame looked at the other two girls, confused. "Is our clock broken or something? I could have sworn it said six-thirty..."

"So right you are," Kouga said as he breezed into the condo, delivering a good morning kiss to his girlfriend that left her dazed.

"Was someone caring about the time?" Ayame asked vaguely with a dreamy smile on her now-red lips.

Sango snorted as she looked at her friend before turning and seeing Miroku directly in her face. She stood stoically under his intense gaze for a moment or two before he suddenly spread his arms and gave her a huge hug. "Saaangooo! Good morning!" he chirped with a huge grin on his face.

Sango hugged him back uncertainly as a blush stole across the bridge of her nose. It intensified as he left a kiss on her cheek as he drew back. "G–good morning, Miroku. What brings you guys here so early?"

Kouga glanced over to Inuyasha and Kagome who were both as red as tomatoes and determinedly not looking at each other or anybody else in the room and decided that neither would be of any help to any part of the conversation. "We probably should have called first... We thought you guys would still be sleeping... We got woken up a little earlier than expected and decided we might as well take advantage of the day while she's still young."

Sango nodded for a moment before a slight frown marred her features. "What woke you up?"

Miroku rolled his eyes. "Stupid ass Naraku barged in at five-thirty claiming Sesshoumaru sent twenty-two pizzas to his condo at two-thirty in the morning."

Ayame snickered. "Did he?"

Miroku shrugged. "Who knows? Knowing Sesshoumaru, probably, but I doubt you'll ever find a connection back to him."

"Know what he did as we came down from our condo this morning?" Kouga cut in.

"What?" Ayame asked.

"He told the press that Naraku was intending to donate five thousand dollars to a children's charity. So of course he then tosses Naraku right into it and Naraku can't say no, right? That would make him out to be a total bastard, you know? So now Sesshoumaru has effectively forced Naraku into donating that money," Kouga finished with a hint of amusement.

The two girls looked caught between amusement and horror. "But..." Sango ventured. "Isn't that a bit too far...? I mean five thousand dollars? That's a lot of money."

Kouga waved her off easily. "Nah, Naraku's family is stinking rich. They've got a ton of money, but they never do anything good with it. So Sesshoumaru's just done everyone a huge favour, and irritated the hell out of Naraku, to boot."

Ayame grinned. "Nice."

Miroku looked around at the three pyjama-clad girls. "So. You bums gonna lounge around in your PJs all day or are you going to get ready so we can ski?"

"Who you calling a bum?" Sango retorted as she stepped away from him.

Thinking of no way to respond to that without receiving pain in some form, Miroku instead gave her a boyish grin, the kind that would get an extra cookie for dessert when he was young. In response, Sango gave him a small smile as she and Ayame dragged a fidgety Kagome back up the stairs.

The girls showered and dressed as fast as they could while the boys' occupied themselves with the TV downstairs. Then, before they descended, the girls held a brief conference.

"So how do I act around him?" Kagome asked her friends frantically. "We're not 'just friends' anymore, right? But we're not going out yet! What do I do?"

Sango and Ayame were silent for a few minutes as they contemplated this. Finally, Sango blurted out, "You know, I think you were doing a fine job when you were just standing there, blushing and avoiding all eye contact!"

"I concur!" Ayame declared. Kagome rolled her eyes as her "helpful" friends dragged her back towards the stairs.

"Ready!" Sango chirped as the three girls presented themselves before the boys once more. "Let's go do some skiing!"

"Finally!" Kouga let out a frustrated sigh as he rose from the couch. "Girls!"

"It's like they're _asking_ for it," Ayame said pointedly to Sango as she glared at Kouga out of the corner of her eye.

Kouga gulped. "Skiing, was it? Let's go, shall we?"

"We still need to grab some chow so the lodge will be the first stop, 'kay?" Miroku told them.

"Yeah, sounds good," Sango agreed. "We only really had some dry Fruit Loops too...we could do with a proper breakfast."

"Um... T-to the lodge, then," Inuyasha spoke up for the first time, still furiously avoiding Kagome's gaze, which was far from focussed on him anyways.

"Oooh, Inuyasha one, Kagome zero," Ayame whispered to Kagome as they all tramped out the door. "Think you can muster up the courage to say something to the group too, Kagome?" She winked as Kagome gave her a flat look.

The group of six made their way through the deep snow to the lodge where they quickly grabbed breakfasts of toast, bagels and muffins and gobbled them down. They didn't dwell in the building, eager as they were to hit the slopes and they soon reemerged into the dazzling sunlight. No sooner had they taken five steps when Naraku rushed up to them from seemingly nowhere.

"Ha!" he crowed triumphantly. "Let's see how that Sesshoumaru likes this!"

Miroku looked at Naraku as one might look at a crazy person. "What have you done _now_, Naraku?"

"Here he comes now! See for yourself!" Naraku retorted.

Six heads obediently swivelled in the direction Naraku indicated and soon stared in disbelief.

"A Barbershop Quartet?" all six cried out in shock.

Naraku nodded proudly. "Having one of THEM follow him around for the day has GOT to get under his skin. Sometimes I amaze even myself."

"Where did you–?"

"But how did you–?"

"Why on _earth_ would you–?"

No one seemed to be able to put their absolute astonishment into words.

But as Sesshoumaru drew nearer to the group, the Barbershop Quartet trailing in his wake, they noticed he did not have an irritated look on his face, but rather quite a genial one, or as close to one as possible. They heard him call back to them as he passed, "Sing Goodbye My Coney Island Baby one more time; I never tire of it!"

Promptly, the quartet began singing and the whole group trooped past the dumbfounded group of seven in front of the lodge.

"Well!" was all Ayame had to say.

"Huh," was Inuyasha's response.

"I think I've seen everything," Miroku piped up slowly.

"This is a very strange morning..." Sango agreed.

"I think I should start a scrapbook," Kagome said.

"I'm with you," Kouga added.

"T-that wasn't supposed to happen!" Naraku cried in outrage. "Urgh!" With that, he spun around and stomped back into the lodge.

"Yeeeeaaaaahhh... Sooo. Who's up for skiing?" Kouga asked the rest. A show of five hands shot up in the hair. "Good then; let's get out of this crazy place!"

"You know, I think we're half of what makes this place crazy most of the time," Miroku commented thoughtfully as the troop headed for a chairlift. "And the people we know make up the other half..."

The others thought on this for a moment before conceding and nodding in agreement.

There was a twenty minute delay at the chairlift due to the large amount of snow that had fallen the previous night. A few mechanisms had to be unburied and it was a challenge at first to even get the lift going, but after everything was in order, the group got on it three by three and rode to the top. They took their first few runs easy, just generally warming up their limbs and watching Inuyasha show off his Tetsusaiga skis so that they could 'ooohhh' and 'ahhhh' at them.

After their third run down, they were met with a sight so comical they thought their eyes must be playing tricks on them. Sesshoumaru and Naraku faced each other at the bottom of the hill, one looking as if nothing were amiss and the other one seething. Behind Sesshoumaru, his hired Barbershop Quartet stood, singing away. And behind Naraku...

"A Mariachi band?"

A Mariachi band was indeed positioned behind Naraku, playing away and totally engrossed in their music, despite how it clashed with the singing coming from a short distance away.

"What is THIS?" Naraku practically bit out.

Sesshoumaru gave him an innocent look. "Why, when you hired my splendid Barbershop Quartet to follow me around for the day, I simply _couldn't_ neglect to return the favour! Such a generous fellow as yourself must have an equally superb gift, I said to myself! And so I hired this amazing Mariachi band to follow _you_ around. No need to thank me." And then, to the surprise and horror of everyone present, Sesshoumaru delivered an award-winning smile. Only Naraku didn't quiver under the grin, not quite understanding the significance of the emotionless, stoic Sesshoumaru _smiling_.

"No. I want to take back my earlier statement," Miroku spoke up shakily. "_Now_ I've seen everything."

Quick as a flash, Inuyasha produced a camera from some hidden pocket of his snowsuit and snapped a picture before the smile faded from Sesshoumaru's face. "I might have to _frame_ that one," he muttered to himself.

"How the _hell_ did he manage to get that band here like that? Does he have them on speed dial or something?" Kouga joked.

"Do you want an honest answer?" Rin piped up as she appeared out of nowhere to stand beside him.

The grin slid from Kouga's face and then he pondered for a moment. "You know...I really don't think I do..."

"I'm definitely starting that scrapbook now," Kagome spoke up. "And I think I'll publish it."

"You'll make millions," Ayame added helpfully.

Meanwhile, Naraku glared for a few more minutes at Sesshoumaru before finally scoffing, turning heel and stomping off in a huff. His Mariachi band trailed along behind him playing ever more on their guitars and vihuelas, harps, and violins.

A ghost of a smirk crossed Sesshoumaru's face before he turned to the group acting as his audience. "Good day," he greeted them almost cheerfully, before turning back towards the lodge. "Coming, Rin?"

"Yup! See you guys later! Good luck on the race, Inuyasha and Kouga! We'll be rooting for ya!" Rin said as she gave them a wave and ran off after her ice dance partner.

"Um...bye..." Inuyasha said long after the two had disappeared.

Sango shook her head as if to clear out the scene they'd all just witnessed. "Er...maybe we should get back to skiing..."

"Good idea..." Ayame agreed. As the group started towards the gondola, she spoke up again, "So guys... What's involved in the race today?"

"This is the slalom," Kouga said grimly as they all loaded and boarded the gondola. "That means the gates will be closer together – we have less time to turn. It takes a lot of manoeuvrability and skill. It's slower than the GS, but more fun at the same time 'cause we get to bash the gates."

"You mean like hitting?" Sango asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Sometimes you cut in so close to the gates when you're turning around them that it's either hit or be hit," Kouga explained.

"It's great as a therapeutic technique," Inuyasha said, rolling his shoulders and cracking his back. "Really let's out the stress. And today, I'm going to imagine that every single gate is Naraku's head..." He let out a dark chuckle and everyone edged slightly away from him.

Miroku coughed. "Well, how about this, guys? We'll take this one last run and then we'll head for the chalet to collect these guys' bibs."

Sango nodded. "Sounds good to me. Lead the way! Find us a fun hill!"

Miroku saluted. "No problemo! I know just the one." Once the gondola reached the top of the mountain, Miroku skated confidently towards a less populated section. "I'm taking you guys to a hill called Donald's Dip–"

"Great name," Sango snorted.

"Yes, well, the founders of the hill may not have been the most creative fellows of their time, but it gets the point across. The run is basically a dip in the mountain – both sides are totally rock so it feels like you're isolated or boxed in a bit. I dunno, it's kind of hard to explain, but trust me; it's cool."

Ayame shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

The group came to a halt at the top of the run Miroku had led them to. As they gazed down, it looked like the mountain kept going, but this run had cut its way down through it. Mountain walls curved up on either side of the narrow run and it didn't look very groomed from the snowfall the night before.

"Looks like we can't go down all at once," Kouga commented. "Ayame, how about you and I go down first?"

"Sure!" the redhead chirped, pushing off immediately and leaving the racer to chase after her.

After the first two were a good ways down, Miroku indicated the hill with a gentlemanlike flourish to Sango and she obligingly launched off as well, her boyfriend beside her.

Inuyasha and Kagome stole brief glances at one another, blushing brightly, before Kagome gave a small smile while looking at her silver-haired crush through her lashes. Inuyasha returned her nervous smile as he indicated the hill with a jut of his head. Kagome nodded slightly and took off down the run with him at her side.

Only half a minute after the last couple had gone down the run, an official of the mountain, having not noticed their presence, came walking up. He hastily put up a few signs to block off the entrance of the run and then quickly hurried off again. The signs read: Danger – Run Closed.

Meanwhile, the group that had already gone down were oblivious to this and were thus enjoying themselves thoroughly. Ayame and Kouga were far ahead of the group, almost at the bottom, when it happened.

Miroku's ski caught in the snow abruptly and before he could react, he was flung to the ground, hard. His arm made brutal contact and then was twisted aside as his body rolled. A sickening 'crack' was heard and he shrieked out in pain. The sound echoed up into the mountain above them.

Sango came to a sloppy halt where she was a ways below him. "Miroku!" she cried out.

Inuyasha and Kagome had also come to an abrupt stop, but before any of them could react, a loud rumbling sound was heard and a trembling sensation passed under their feet. In horror, the three still standing glanced at each other before turning their heads to gawk at the mountain behind them. White clouds of snow were rising up in the distance and sheets of snow were rolling towards them at breakneck speeds.

When Inuyasha could find his voice, all he could shout was, "Avalanche!"

* * *

A/N Sorry about the shortness, but as of now, I'm on a King of the Hill marathon. I'm focussing solely on this story until we get this sucker finished. So you won't be kept waiting TOO long in suspense as you wonder what will happen to them all!

Anymewho, I estimate there's about four to six chapters left to this...just to give you all an idea. And I have a special surprise at the end so stay tuned! Hope you liked this chappie, and I'll talk to you all later!

George Carlin Philosophy: If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?


	34. Trapped

Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not strap on skis and go careening down snowy race courses in a semi-spandex speed suit in the televised show and therefore...I cannot proclaim to owning him. On another note, Naraku in a speedo is also not televised and we all count our blessings for that every night.

A/N G'day one and all! I'm back again with yet another chapter...in less than a month! I'm getting better! So wipe that shocked look off your face and cheerfully read on!

But first, congratulations to Cattie for being my 1400th reviewer! Thanks a ton for _all_ of your reviews, guys!

And now...the chapter!

* * *

"Avalanche!" Inuyasha cried and looked wildly back at the others. In a split second, his mind analysed the surroundings, their situation and their options.

He and Kagome were side by side, and a little further up the hill than where Miroku lay collapsed in the snow, moaning and clutching his broken arm. Sango was a good ways down from Miroku, and would never be able to climb back up to the others before the avalanche hit them full force. Kouga and Ayame had long since gone down, and were probably not even aware of the danger befalling their friends.

The walls of rock rose up on either side of the four still on the run, effectively caging them in. It was a death trap. But Inuyasha spied an irregularity in the rock wall on the left side; the wall jutted inwards before continuing on. It also had a bit of an overhang. He decided to take a chance, for it was the only one they had.

"Kagome!" he called over the rushing sound of the snow. "Grab Miroku with me and ski for that outcropping on the left! Sango! Ski as hard and fast as you can! Get out of here!"

Without hesitation, Kagome followed his lead and the two of them quickly descended to Miroku's side. Inuyasha stooped to wrap Miroku's good arm around his shoulders and Kagome grabbed him around the waist from the other side. Miroku's skis and poles had come free of him during his fall, but they had no time to care about them. Hastily and awkwardly, Kagome and Inuyasha started struggling towards what might be their only chance. Briefly, Inuyasha turned his head to see where Sango was at. To his chagrin, Sango was still routed to her spot, eyes wide at the oncoming onslaught of snow.

"SANGO!" Inuyasha shouted at the top of his lungs. "MOVE! SKI!"

Sango blinked rapidly as if snapping back to reality, and then, letting out a short scream, she launched herself off down the hill.

Glad that she was now moving, but still worried about her, Inuyasha glanced back up the hill. The snow was almost upon them now, and they were still several feet from the wall... Ignoring Miroku's cry of protest, Inuyasha and Kagome ducked and launched themselves towards the wall. They shoved Miroku right up close to the wall before Kagome collapsed beside him, Inuyasha on her right and closest to the open hill. Not two seconds later, torrents of snow rushed by them and above the overhang over their heads.

..:V:..

"Ohmigod, ohmigod, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, ohmigod, ohmigod, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna dieeee!" Sango chanted to herself in a high-pitched voice as she skied as fast as she could down the hill. One frantic glance back told her that it was all in vain. The blood drained from her face as she saw the cascade of snow crash towards her...and then it engulfed her. Holding her breath, Sango struggled desperately as she tumbled through the rush of snow. She made frantic swimming motions, clawing towards what she believed was the surface. Every time she moved, it felt like she was trying to drag her limbs through a vat of molasses – the resistance was incredible. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and she was growing faint from holding her breath so long. No matter how much she swiped at the snow in front of her, more fell into its place and she couldn't see that she had made any headway. Her poles and skis had long since been ripped away, though her kicking feet felt useless with her awkward ski boots still on.

Just as she was sure she was going to pass out, and probably never wake up again, her right hand punched its way through the snow and into the air above. Sango gratefully took a few breaths, but once again drew in a deep one and held it, for the rolling motion of the snow hadn't ceased and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to stay near the surface.

It was a desperate battle against the snow, and Sango slipped below the surface several more times, each time fighting to get back up before she lost the sense of which direction it was in. She could feel the avalanche slowing down, and if she knew anything in her panicked mind, it was that she didn't want to be below the surface when it stopped completely. Finally, just after she'd broken her hand through to the air above yet another time, she felt the snow gradually roll to a stop.

Her face wasn't quite at the surface, but her hand was, and it had created a hole large enough for fresh air to get to her. Sango had been holding her breath again and so now let out an enormous sigh of relief. She was alive. The avalanche had stopped and she wasn't dead. There was still hope.

She tried to bring up her other arm in order to dig a greater hole in the surface of the snow, but to her surprise, it wouldn't budge. She tried wriggling any part of her body, but the only part of her anatomy that would shift any was her torso – since it had decreased in size when she let out her held breath. It seemed that the snow had become hard as cement almost as soon as it had stopped moving. Sango shuddered to think what would have happened if she had not held her breath; as it was, she had just enough room to draw in breaths, but otherwise, she would have had none.

This was small comfort, however, and Sango's breathing was soon reduced to short bursts as she suffered a panic attack, terror filling every part of her being. She was stuck. She was stuck and she couldn't move. She couldn't escape. She was going to die. No one was going to find her and she was going to stay stuck under this layer of snow, where she'd die slowly without anyone even noticing. They'd never even know she was there.

Sango quickly started to tremble, which soon turned into full out struggling against the unyielding snow around her with all her might. She tried thrashing from side to side, but to no avail. After several frantic and fruitless minutes of her pointless struggle, Sango suddenly slumped, panic leaving her in an instant so that she just felt worn out. It was hopeless. She couldn't move an inch.

She sighed once more and lifted her eyes to where her hand had broken through the surface. At least she had air... And her hand _was_ above the snow. Maybe someone might spot her and save her after all. It was an extremely small and, in her mind, empty hope, but at least it was something.

It was the only hope she had.

..:V:..

Kouga and Ayame had just reached the bottom of the run and looked back up the hill, waiting for their friends, when the avalanche had struck. At first they didn't realize what was going on, for the hill twisted out of their sight and they couldn't see their friends or the source of the disaster. But when they spotted clouds of snow rising up from the mountain rocks above, they knew something was amiss. The two shared alarmed looks.

"Wh-what is that?" Ayame asked her boyfriend frantically.

Kouga's expression slipped into something more grim. "I'd have to guess at...at an avalanche. Nothing else could cause the snow to shoot into the air like that."

Ayame blanched. "An...an a-avalanche?" she squeaked. "Bu-but isn't that where all our friends are...?" Even knowing it to be true, Ayame hoped against hope she was somehow wrong.

Kouga's jaw set and he nodded curtly.

"Oh...oh, Kouga!" Ayame cried out, tears springing to her eyes as she grabbed his arm. "Wh-what do you think happened to them?"

Kouga avoided her gaze. "I...I don't know, but we'd better get out of here if we know what's good for us. The avalanche is heading down the hill, and there's no guarantee it'll stop before it reaches us here at the bottom."

Ayame straightened. "R-right," she said in a shaking voice.

The two turned quickly and started skating rapidly away, back towards the lodge and first aid hut. Their first priority may have been to get away from the danger, but their close second was to get help for their friends...whether it was already too late for them or not.

Ayame couldn't help the flood of tears that cascaded down her face as they skated. This couldn't be happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. Sango...Inuyasha...Kagome...Miroku... They were fine. They were fine. Of course they were fine. They couldn't have been in the middle of that – there were plenty of escape routes...there were no escape routes. How could they have possibly escaped that? Suddenly it all seemed hopeless. Her meagre hope that they had escaped the disaster somehow seemed ridiculous. They were definitely caught up in it. And they...they might even be dead.

A sob escaped Ayame as a wave of grief washed over her. All she could think about was how much fun she'd had with her old friends and new friends for the past week and a half – almost two weeks – and how it might all be over. How she might never see them again. How in one instant, Inuyasha and Miroku, and Sango and Kagome – her _best_ friends – could just be gone. Memories of their time together flashed like rapid fire through her mind, none settling long enough for her to concentrate on, yet all leaving her with an increasing feeling of despair.

Kouga had to urge her to keep moving several times, his own face strangely tense and his speech staggered. Both felt like they'd been punched in the gut and could hardly think of a reason to keep going...but they knew they must. If there was even a small chance that their friends had lived, they had to get them help.

After what seemed like ages, and long after Ayame's brain had stopped thinking altogether, the couple arrived in front of the first aid hut. There was a bustle of activity all around it and the two guessed that the avalanche had already been spotted. Ayame and Kouga quickly sprang out of their skis, ditching their poles by their side, and staggered up to an official.

With his arm around Ayame to give her support, Kouga said hurriedly, "Pl-please, sir. Our–our four friends were on that run that that avalanche was on! You have to help them!"

The official and many around him stopped cold. "What?" the addressed man yelled. "There were _skiers_ on that run?"

"Ye-es," Kouga said hesitantly.

"But that's absurd!" the man cried. "That run was blocked off! No one should have been on it!"

"But there was no sign when _we_ went down it," Kouga protested. "It was open, like any other run. My girlfriend and I went down first, but the others...the others were still on the hill!"

The man gaped for only a moment more before he spun and started speaking rapidly into a walkie-talkie. "There were _four skiers on the run_, I repeat, _four skiers on the run_, we need a rescue crew out there pronto!" The man turned back to the frantic teenagers before him. "You two go to the main lodge with Charlie here and then wait for further news." He indicated another man who came forward and beckoned them towards the lodge.

Ayame spoke up for the first time. "We're...we're just supposed to wait?" she screeched. "We-we don't know what happened to our friends, but instead of keeping us with you and up to date, you just want us to sit in some lodge and wait patiently without a clue?"

The man shot her an irritated, albeit sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, kid, but you'd just be in the way. Please just go to the lodge. We'll inform you of any new developments – Charlie's got a walkie-talkie as well."

Despite the man's sensible words, Ayame felt herself grow more and more hysteric. "I can't believe this! _Don't_ you treat us like children! We have a right to be here with you, helping to find our friends! I want to know where they are! I want to know if they're alright! I want–I want–!" Ayame could hardly continue speaking as her tears started flowing again and she choked up.

"Ayame...shhh..." Kouga consoled her, his own eyes misty, as she slumped against him and her tears soaked his jacket.

"I want...I want...I want m-my frie-ends...!" she sobbed loudly, desperately clutching Kouga's arm.

Swallowing hard, Kouga swooped down and gathered his girlfriend up in his arms, nodding to Charlie to lead the way to the lodge. He laid his cheek on top of Ayame's shaking head and said quietly to her, "They'll...they'll find them, Ayame. I mean, our friends wouldn't give up so easily – I-I'm sure they're okay."

In his heart, he couldn't help but feel he was lying to Ayame...and himself.

..:V:..

"...Inu-Inuyasha? Miroku?" Kagome asked quietly, timidly even.

The snow had stopped moving a few minutes ago, but no one had dared to utter a word. The three of them had turned around and shielded their little enclave with their backs so any snow that reached them couldn't get any farther in. As it was, the snow from the avalanche had piled up and effectively blocked them in the small area. The rock wall made up two walls of their enclosure, plus the overhang above them. The remaining two sides were complete snow and each of their backs was firmly stuck within some part of them. Inuyasha's back was in the side that was closest to the once open hill, and Kagome and Miroku each had their backs in the wall of snow that was the farthest down the hill. Kagome and Inuyasha's skis and poles were still with them, though they were tangled together and partially stuck in the snow behind them.

It was pitch dark in the alcove and so Kagome couldn't see either of her friends' faces, only listen to their ragged breathing. After a few more moments of silence, Inuyasha finally spoke up. "I'm...I'm alright. Miroku?"

"I'm okay, too...other than this stinkin' arm," Miroku said, and Kagome could almost feel the wince in his voice.

"Kagome? You're alright?" Inuyasha asked next.

"Ye-eah... My back and skis are stuck in the snow, though," Kagome answered.

"Yeah, mine too," Inuyasha said. "We'd best dig ourselves out..."

After five minutes of rigorous digging, the trio managed to get themselves free of the snow walls and Kagome and Inuyasha popped off their skis so they could have more mobility. The three of them then turned around and huddled together against the rock walls, Kagome in the corner where the two walls met, and Inuyasha and Miroku on either side of her.

Several minutes passed in awkward silence as the three of them shivered. Finally, Kagome spoke up, voicing a fear they all shared, "Do...do you think we'll get rescued? Do you think they'll come for us? ...Do you think they'll even be able to find us?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha cut across her ranting tensely. "Stop talking like that. I'm sure they'll come for us. And they've got special dogs who'll be able to sniff us out, I'm sure. We...we have a very good chance. The fact that we're still alive after the avalanche has stopped moving is a big point in our favour."

Kagome was slightly comforted by Inuyasha's words, but in the situation they were in, she could be totally appeased. "Yeah...but how long do you think we can last in here? We can't even see the surface. All we have is the oxygen in this little space."

"And the oxygen in the snow around us. Kagome, please stop worrying so much," Inuyasha said, though his voice too betrayed a hint of anxiety.

Kagome really felt the situation called for more panicking on her part, but at Inuyasha's behest, she tried to control herself. Prying her mind away from their hopeless situation, it inevitably soon landed on her other friends' predicaments. "Hey, what do you think happened to the others?" she piped up with a voice laced with concern. "I think Kouga and Ayame made it to the bottom before the avalanche struck, but...but what about Sango? Oh, god, she must have been right in the middle of it!"

In the darkness, Miroku blanched. "S-Sango..."

Inuyasha grit his teeth. "Just...just stop thinking about the others, guys. It won't do us any good. Wherever they are, whatever danger they might be in, we're in no position to help them. So don't even let your thoughts stray to them."

Miroku swallowed thickly and yanked his thoughts away from his girlfriend. "Y-you're right, Inuyasha. Heh. And usually _I'm_ the rational one in these situations."

"Yeah, well..." Inuyasha responded awkwardly. "I guess _someone_ has to fix the group when you're not in your right mind to do it."

Miroku let a humourless smile slide across his face as he cradled his broken arm to his chest. "Yeah, I guess so..."

"So, uh...what do we do now?" Kagome asked in a small voice.

Inuyasha sighed and rested his head back against the rock wall. "All we can do, I guess. Wait."

..:V:..

"Any news?" Kouga asked Charlie in a subdued voice. Charlie had led him into a private room in the lodge – a similar one to the one they had met Toutousai in. Now Kouga was seated on a couch, Ayame, who had cried herself to sleep, beside him with her head on his shoulder.

In response to Kouga's question, Charlie raised his walkie-talkie to his lips. "Any new developments? The kids are anxious about their friends."

They waited a moment before a crackling voice answered. "Nothing yet, Charlie... We've got the rescue dogs out searching. Let's just hope everything's in our favour..."

Kouga looked over at Charlie inquisitively. "What needs to be in our favour, sir? What _are_ the chances our friends are okay?"

Charlie sighed and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. "I'm not going to lie to you, kid...the chances aren't good. What needs to be in our favour... Well, the best hope is that your friends were able to stay near the surface of the snow as the avalanche pulled them along. That way they'll have more oxygen and part of their body will be visible to the rescuers. Also, it'll take the rescuers less time to dig them out. That's crucial. Trapped skiers need to be rescued as soon as possible – usually less than thirty minutes after the avalanche has come to a stop. If skiers are trapped under the snow for more than forty-five minutes...they rarely survive."

Kouga swallowed hard as he digested this information. "How...how long has it been since the avalanche stopped?"

Charlie glanced at his watch. "About ten minutes," he replied.

Kouga leaned back into the couch, gazing up towards the ceiling with unseeing eyes. "Please be alright, guys..." he muttered under his breath.

Just then, the door to the private room opened and in walked Sesshoumaru, Rin and Naraku. "What the hell's going on?" Naraku demanded imperiously. "They've postponed the ski race to tomorrow and when we asked an official why they told us there was some avalanche or something and that we'd get more answers if we came here...?"

"The race!" Kouga exclaimed. "I'd forgotten all about that..."

"Speak," Sesshoumaru ordered. "What has happened?"

Kouga kneaded his brow with his knuckles as Ayame stirred beside him. "Yeah...there was an avalanche. Ayame and I made it down to the bottom of the hill before it started, but Miroku, Inuyasha, Sango and Kagome were above us and they must have gotten caught up in it. A rescue crew's out looking for them now, but we don't know how good their chances are..."

Something in Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed to harden, and Rin gasped beside him. "Oh...oh, god..." she whispered fearfully. Naraku shifted, not seeming to know what to say. Finally, he just sniffed contemptuously and went to sit down on a nearby couch. Ayame was now fully awake and glaring at him with all her being, as if he were the cause of the avalanche.

The door of the room once again burst open and this time Kikyo, Kagura and Kanna strolled in, also looking for answers. Their expressions turned grim when Kouga explained the situation to them as well.

"So we're just supposed to sit here and wait?" Kikyo demanded, her voice an octave higher than usual.

"That's just what I said..." Ayame replied bitterly. "And apparently yes."

Sorrow flickered across Kikyo's eyes. "Inuyasha..."

Just then, the crackling voice spoke up again. "We've found one! The girl's hand was sticking up through the snow and we're digging her out now. She must have been caught directly in the middle of the avalanche, but she seems to be alright. Five more minutes and we'll have her free. We'll send her down to the first aid hut if her friends want to meet her there."

Eight pairs of feet had dashed out of the room before Charlie could even think of responding.

..:V:..

The three skiers trapped in the snow enclosure were silent were quite a while, sitting tensely and waiting for some sort of signal, _anything_, to indicate that their nightmare would soon be over. When it became apparent that no rescue was coming anytime soon, Miroku finally spoke up with a bitter laugh. "Well, well, isn't this ironic, Inuyasha? Isn't this just how your dad–?"

"Shut it, Miroku," Inuyasha spat darkly.

Even though she couldn't see them, Kagome looked curiously from one boy beside her to the other. "How your dad what, Inuyasha?" Her question was met with silence. Feeling she was probably butting in on matters that she oughtn't, she was about to drop it when an unnerving thought occurred to her. In a slightly detached tone, she said, "You know...we might not even make it out of here alive... And if we don't, I sure won't be in a position to spread your life secrets to the world. And even if we do make it out, no one will hear it from me anyway. You _can_ trust me, Inuyasha."

There was a few more moments of tense silence and then Inuyasha let out a breath beside her. "You're right," he muttered. "I'm being stupid. It's just that...well...my...my dad died...in an avalanche." Kagome gasped. "It was four years ago... He had just competed and won in the ski racing World Championship with Canada's national team. It was the week after and him, my mom, Sesshoumaru and I were up skiing in the Swiss Alps. Sesshoumaru and I had gone off to some hill and my mom was sitting in the lodge, warming up. My dad went down a hill that turned out to be unsafe and then an avalanche occurred. The rescue team managed to rescue two skiers from it, but my dad died along with five others..." Inuyasha's voice broke slightly.

"Oh, Inuyasha..." Kagome said in a sympathetic voice.

Groping blindly in the dark, she managed to turn slightly and wrap her arm around the front of his waist and give him a one-armed hug. In response, Inuyasha smiled slightly and laid his cheek on the top of her head.

Hesitantly, for she didn't wish to cause him any more harm, Kagome asked, "And...and so what happened to your mother?"

Inuyasha sighed, though not painfully. "She...she was devastated over my dad's death. She just couldn't seem to pull out of that grief slump, no matter what Sesshoumaru or I tried. Eventually nature took advantage of her body's weakened state and she became ill...she never recovered and passed away two years after my dad had gone. She's been gone herself for two years now."

"I'm sorry," Kagome whispered.

Inuyasha let out a small chuckle. "You already said that, dummy. Back when I told you they died when we were with Toutousai."

"Yeah, I guess so," Kagome answered with a small smile. "But you didn't tell me then _how_ they died. So now I must say sorry for that too."

Inuyasha's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Why are you apologizing for them?"

"Well...it's what you say when you've heard someone's sad story..." Kagome tried to explain awkwardly. When Inuyasha just laughed at her again, she continued, "Hey! What am I supposed to say then?"

"I don't know," Inuyasha admitted, his voice filled with mirth. "It's just always struck me as funny when people apologize for _my_ sad story. Especially when you do it."

"What's so different about me?" Kagome asked, pouting.

"You're such a happy person. Are you apologizing for being happy when others have had a few hardships? That seems pretty silly. Because then it seems that you think everyone should be miserable in the world just so everyone's equal," Inuyasha replied with a smirk in his voice.

"Yeah, well... I just wish no one was miserable..." Kagome said awkwardly.

Inuyasha lifted his arm and wrapped it around Kagome's shoulders, drawing her closer. "Kagome...when miserable people like me meet happy people like you, they _become_ happy. So never doubt yourself for a second."

"...There was no way you two could have done all this _not_ in my presence, was there?" Miroku spoke up bitterly. The combination of the cold, the pain of his broken arm, the fear for his girlfriend and other friends, and their situation in general was obviously not doing wonders for his mood.

"It's not like there's much place else to go," Inuyasha replied wryly.

Miroku sighed and tried to relax a bit. "Sorry, guys... This hasn't been my best day."

"Oh, really?" Inuyasha joked. "I could have sworn we were having the time of our lives."

Miroku let out a chuckle. "Sooo...are you two an official couple now then?"

Kagome blushed at the comment, but didn't pull away from Inuyasha. Despite the awkwardness that had haunted the two of them earlier that morning, in light of the recent events, she could care less. They were stuck here, they might die here, and she wasn't letting go of the one boy who had brought her more joy than she could have imagined – all in just a week and a half. Plus, he had just said some _really_ sweet things. Sniffing primly, she retorted, "And what if we are?"

Kagome felt Inuyasha's head lift from hers and knew he was looking down at her in what must have been astonishment, but once again, she didn't care. She just held on tighter. Soon he kissed the top of her head and once more laid his cheek down on it, saying softly, "Yeah...what if we are?"

A fluttery feeling sprung up in Kagome's heart and her mouth broke into a wide grin. Giggling, she snuggled deeper into Inuyasha's embrace. Now that he had agreed that they were an official couple, she could freely admit to herself that he was toasty warm and so damn cuddly!

"Oh, how lovely..." Miroku said dryly. He shifted towards the snow wall and started clawing at it with his good hand.

Hearing the noise, Inuyasha lifted his head and looked in Miroku's general direction. "What are you doing?"

"I'm attempting to dig myself out so you two can share your lovey-dovey moment alone together. I'm bitter and alone, and have never felt like more of a third wheel," Miroku responded, though there was humour laced in his voice. "In fact, we almost have a tricycle going on here."

Inuyasha blushed but laughed and carefully detached himself from Kagome. "We'll help you dig. I'm tired of waiting for people to rescue us. We'll just have to save ourselves."

Kagome moved towards the snow wall as well, considering Inuyasha's behaviour. He seemed a lot more open, and had actually admitted his feelings freely. He seemed perfectly fine – as if they weren't in any danger at all. But she knew he must be fully aware of the severity of their situation.

Perhaps potentially being on death's doorstep changed your priorities a little.

..:V:..

"Sango!" Ayame cried out.

The door of the first aid hut had just burst open and two rescue workers were carrying in the shivering girl. The group awaiting her arrival, excluding Naraku and Sesshoumaru, rushed over to her. Sesshoumaru made his way calmly over to her, for he had never rushed to anything in his life.

"Sango! Are you alright?" Kouga asked anxiously.

Sango lifted her head and gave the group a shaky smile. "H-hey, guys... I'm...I'm alright. J-just c-cold."

One of the workers glanced down at her and then at her friends. "Quite a lot of snow got shoved down her coat. We'll have to take her into the back and warm her up. Please wait here," she said. The group obediently trotted back to their seats.

Ten minutes later, Sango emerged from the back room in fresh clothes, a large wool blanket around her shoulders and clutching a mug of steaming hot chocolate. She went straight over to Ayame, who quickly enfolded her in an embrace and begged her to sit down in the seat next to hers.

Once Ayame was sure her friend was perfectly alright, she hesitantly ventured, "And so...what about the others? ...Did you see what happened to them?"

At this, everyone leaned forward, including Naraku and the rescue crew. Sango looked into all the stares and then gazed down into the depths of her hot chocolate uncertainly. "I...I'm not sure. Miroku...broke his arm. When he cried out in pain, the avalanche started to come down. Inuyasha and Kagome grabbed Miroku and started to make their way to the side of the mountain wall... Inuyasha said something about an outcropping... He told me to ski down because I wouldn't have been able to make it there in time. Bu-but what if they didn't make it...? What if his plan didn't work? What if they're–what if they're–?" Sango cut herself off with a sob.

"Shhh..." Ayame said, tears once again welling up in her eyes. "I-I'm sure they made it... They had to have..."

One of the rescue workers raised his walkie-talkie. "Make sure to check the area next to the mountain wall especially." Looking to Sango, he asked, "Which wall was it?"

"Uh... Looking up from the bottom of the hill, it was on the right side," Sango told him.

The man relayed the message.

"How...how long as it been since the avalanche stopped?" Kouga asked the other worker hesitantly.

The woman glanced at her watch. "It's quarter to nine... That means it's been about thirty-five minutes... I hate to say it, but there's little chance of their survival now..."

The hut grew eerily quiet.

"Heh...what a tragedy," Naraku spoke up, rising from his seat. "Only the likes of Inuyasha could have gotten himself into this type of mess. And now he's caused the race to be postponed. How pathet–" Naraku was never able to finish his sentence as a forceful blow connected with his cheek and he was flung to the floor. Coughing up some blood onto the floor, Naraku looked up only in time to see a long swish of silver vanish through the hut door.

"...Sesshoumaru?" Rin called worriedly after the departed man. "I...I should go after him, to see if he's alright."

"I'll go with you," Kouga said, standing up.

"Me too," Kagura interjected. "Sitting here and just waiting isn't my cup of tea."

"I'm going to stay here with Sango," Ayame said. "I don't like waiting either, but I can't keep my mind off it at this point." Sango nodded mutely beside her.

"I'll stay as well," Kikyo stated. "Kanna?"

"I'll stay," the petite girl replied.

"Alright," Kouga said. "Let's get going, then. I can't even begin to think what's going through that guy's mind..."

..:V:..

"Alright, so about the saving ourselves bit..." Inuyasha panted. "Maybe later..."

The three had dug furiously for a good twenty minutes and had made little leeway. They were buried deeper than they had originally thought and digging their way to freedom was slow going. Their efforts had exhausted them and they were taking a break.

"Well, death by suffocation _was_ always my second choice of how to go..." Miroku piped up in an ironic tone.

"Oh, yeah?" Kagome asked. "And what was your first choice?"

"Oh, you know. I was hoping I'd be thrown into a pool of starving piranhas so that my flesh could be gnawed off of me with excruciating pain. And then I wanted my skinless body to be thrown into a vat of salt so I could feel it that much more. And then–if I was really lucky–I could finally be hanged and then decapitated and have my gruesome remains be on public display for years to come. But–alas–I'll only be suffocated. What a letdown." Miroku sighed forlornly. "At least it's the next best thing, right?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Glad to have your optimistic view with us, Miroku."

"Wow..." Kagome spoke up. "It's like your personalities have been reversed."

She could suddenly feel two glares sent her way. "What do you mean by that?" the two boys demanded simultaneously.

Kagome giggled. "Inuyasha, you're being so nice and optimistic and Miroku, you're being so...uh, bitter and pessimistic. Usually it's more like the other way around..."

"Oh, really, _sweetheart_ o' mine?" Inuyasha said in a voice dripping with sarcasm; it gave Kagome the uneasy feeling that she was about to be pounced on.

Kagome edged away nervously. "Eheh...I meant it in a good way, of course..."

"Oh, yeah," Inuyasha responded dryly. "Because there _is_ a good way to mean 'bitter and pessimistic'."

"Well...yeah... If you, you know, tilt your head to the side...and squint..." Kagome explained awkwardly.

Inuyasha snorted and Miroku sighed. "I can't believe I've been compared to Inuyasha..." the latter lamented. "How incredibly depressing..."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Oh, you'll get over it."

"And _damn_ is it cold," Miroku continued his complaints. "Some snow got down my jacket when I fell. I think there's only one possible course of action here..."

"What's that?" Kagome asked.

"Kagome, I think we both need to strip and huddle together for warmth," Miroku replied confidently.

Even with no light to see by, two fists unerringly connected with the top of Miroku's head. "Lech!" the angry voices of Kagome and Inuyasha shouted.

"You have a girlfriend, _in case_ you'd forgotten!" Kagome sniffed primly, shifting closer to Inuyasha. "So who do you think you are to say those things to _me_? Especially in a situation like this?"

Miroku rubbed his sore head with his good hand and pouted. "Hey, it was just a suggestion... Body heat _is_ the best source of heat."

"Isn't one broken arm enough?" Inuyasha snarled. "Or did you want another?"

As Miroku laughed nervously, Kagome clapped her hands together. "Oh! Your personalities have switched back! Oh, this is fun!" She could practically feel the incredulous stares. "Well, hey...when you're trapped in a tiny snow cave with no exit and possible death in a short amount of time, you have to find _something_ to amuse yourself with!" she stated defensively.

Inuyasha and Miroku were silent for a minute. "Let's keep digging," Inuyasha finally said. "Before Kagome goes totally crazy on us."

"Yeah, I agree," Miroku said, shifting once more towards the snow wall as Kagome pouted in the dark. "Besides...the air's getting pretty thick in here."

..:V:..

"Poor thing never stood a chance..." Kouga said, sorrow heavy in his voice.

Kouga, Rin and Kagura gazed down upon the mangled remains of what was once a vending machine. Sesshoumaru was proving surprisingly easy to track by the numerous scenes of destruction in his wake. So far, they'd come across a door off its hinges, a torn up couch, a broken table and now this battered vending machine. The trail had carried deep within the lodges depths, to areas they hadn't known existed.

"We must be getting closer," Kagura said dryly. "I mean, if he keeps taking the time to kill all these things, it must slow him down..."

"You'd be surprised what Fluffy can accomplish in a short amount of time," Rin piped up humourously, though she wore a worried expression.

"Pretty impressive guy," Kagura mused. "Especially with how he handled Naraku..." There was a sadistically gleeful look spread across her face.

"Yes, well..." Kouga said, edging nervously away from the joyful girl. "I suggest we find him before he starts moving on to people..."

"He already took out Naraku," Rin pointed out.

"Yes, but Naraku isn't classified as a 'person'," Kouga explained patiently. Kagura and Rin gave little shrugs to concede he had a point.

Suddenly, a panicked man's voice cried out, "N-no! Please sir, that's fine china!"

A low and dangerous voice oozed back, "And now it's even _finer_."

The three searchers exchanged uneasy looks. "I think we may have found Fluffy," Rin said. The other two nodded.

As the three of them rounded a corner in the direction of Sesshoumaru's voice, they found a harried staff member being stared down by the tall, silver-haired man and a small pile of powder at their feet.

"Um...Sesshoumaru...?" Rin ventured, stepping forward hesitantly and laying a hand on the his arm.

Sesshoumaru straightened and looked down at her. "Yes, Rin?" he asked calmly.

"Are...are you okay?" she asked uncertainly.

"Oh, yes. I'm perfectly alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some laps to swim." Without even a glance at the other two people who had come along to find him, Sesshoumaru turned and walked away briskly.

"I think we'd better follow him..." Rin said.

Kouga shrugged. "You know him better than us. Let's go."

The three of them left the shocked staff member and continued tracking their target; making sure to not follow the ice dancer _too_ closely. Their chase invariably led down to the pool and they removed their boots and socks while Sesshoumaru changed into his...'swimsuit'. They entered the pool area to see Sesshoumaru being surrounded by the same girls who had been falling over him the day before.

"Ooohhh, Sesshoumaru!"

"Will you take us out for drinks again?"

"Are you going to _swim_?"

"Can we watch?"

"Oh, please..." Kagura rolled her eyes at the air-headedness of the girls. "What do you _think_ someone's going to do if they enter a pool area in their bathing suit?"

"I dunno..." Kouga responded doubtfully. "...Pose?"

Rin giggled and Kagura smirked before Sesshoumaru's voice brought them back to the scene before them. "You're in the way, you stupid girls. Move aside."

Sesshoumaru's demand was met with several shocked gasps and uncertain titters.

"B-but...Sesshoumaru...!"

"I have no need of your useless twitters or brainless dialogue. I am here to swim, not push my tolerance level. _Move aside_." Sesshoumaru made no threatening moves, but his glare alone caused the girls to whimper in terror and flee the pool area.

"Wee bit touchy, isn't he?" Kouga said dryly.

"He does have a reason," Rin said quietly. "I mean, his brother could be...could be..." She coughed and pulled herself away from that train of thought. "Even if Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha don't act like it, there's a bond between them that's deeper than any of us could hope to understand... I don't think Sesshy would take it lightly if he were to lose Inuyasha..."

Kagura and Kouga gazed over to where Sesshoumaru had slipped into the pool and begun to swim furious lengths. "Why do I get the feeling this won't end well...?" Kagura spoke up sadly.

..:V:..

"Are we getting any closer to the surface, do you think?" Kagome asked with laboured breaths. "It's getting kind of difficult to breathe..."

"I don't know, Kagome," Inuyasha responded worriedly, attacking the snow with ferocity. "But we probably shouldn't have talked so much... Should've conserved our air supply."

"Then we shouldn't speak anymore now," Miroku said grimly. "To save whatever little air we have left."

The other two voiced their agreement and then fell silent. The three of them had made fairly substantial headway on their tunnel, though they had no idea how close the surface was. They had to dig diagonally so that they themselves could move upward with the tunnel, which invariably made progress towards the surface that much slower.

For several minutes the three of them dug silently and desperately. Though they were trying to conserve their air, every breath they took was harder to take in and with three people in the small space, the little amount of air that _was_ left was quickly being used up.

Kagome stopped momentarily at one point to check her watch with its little indigo button. The digital face read a quarter after nine – which meant they had been stuck under the snow for around an hour. Kagome drew in a shallow breath and continued her digging. She was feeling a little light-headed.

Miroku shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't voiced it out loud, but his arm was killing him. Digging with one hand was frustrating, but every time he moved his broken arm, it shot a fresh new spasm of pain through it and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. As it was, he grimaced and drew in a few thick breaths.

Inuyasha glared at the unseen snow before him and clawed furiously at it even as his senses reeled from lack of air. He _wasn't_ going to die like this. He _couldn't_ die like this.

_The apple doesn't fall far from the tree_, a voice inside his head mocked.

_No_, Inuyasha insisted. _This is _not_ the aspect of my father's life I'm going to imitate. I'm not going to _die_ like him. I've got to live...I've got to go to the _World Championship _like he did...I've got to win it...I can't die here...I can't...I can't..._

Inuyasha felt his digging slow down as lifting his arm became more and more difficult. He was just so _tired_. And every time he breathed in, it felt like he was trying to breathe through a blanket for all the air that reached his lungs.

"Miroku... Inuyasha..." Kagome whimpered beside him, breaking the silent rule as she groped around in the dark for their hands. Just as her hand connected with Inuyasha's, he heard her collapse to the ground with his suddenly muted hearing.

"Ka...gome..." he struggled to say. Another thud reached his ears from beyond Kagome and he realized his other friend had fallen. "...'Roku..."

With one, final, rattling breath, Inuyasha too collapsed to the snowy floor, a blackness darker than anything around them engulfing him.

* * *

A/N Dun, dun, dun... Are they dead? Am I that cruel? Guess you'll have to tune in next time to find out! 


	35. Recovery

Disclaimer: I think my super hero image might take a dip if I tried to steal the rights to Inuyasha... What do you think?

A/N Man, I have never received such similar reviews in my life. Lol, now that we've all established that I'm "mean," "cruel," "evil," and there's a bit of loving "hate" coming towards me, I think we can continue on with the chapter and let you guys down from that awful, awful cliffhanger of death...(literally)

So sorry it took so long – I really didn't mean it to! I just got stuck for a bit and then school took over again... I will claim the entire fault for this delay, but hopefully there won't be any more! –fingers crossed– I'm out for the summer – four months off – so I hope I can finish this up soon!

Congratulations to Dr. Ascii (I know who you REALLY are!) for being the 1500th reviewer! Look at this review count climb! 0.o

Well, now that the sliver of drama in this story is nearly over...on with the chapter!

* * *

"Found anything?" a fuzzy voice sounded via the walkie-talkie. The rescue searcher holding it put it up to his mouth and pressed the speech button.

"Nothing yet. The dogs are still searching around."

"It's been nearly an hour..." crackled the voice.

"I know. We're looking as fast as we can."

"Alright...keep me posted."

The rescue worker sighed and shook his head desolately. At this rate, the kids could already be dead and he didn't want to be the one to find them in that state...

"Jeff! Over here!"

The rescue worker, Jeff, spun around to see another worker, Hank, near the rock wall a little further up. The dog he was with was sniffing frantically at the ground and pawing at it to move aside snow.

"Let's get some shovels over here!" Hank shouted. In less than a minute, the whole rescue crew had flocked over to Hank's site and furious digging began to take place.

"Come on, guys...!" Jeff encouraged frantically. "We have to find those kids!"

..:V:..

"Sesshoumaru?" Rin piped up questioningly when the silver-haired man pulled himself out of the pool.

"It's time we returned to the first aid hut, Rin. There might be news about the avalanche," Sesshoumaru said briskly as he grabbed his towel and headed for the change room.

Two minutes later, they all met up in the front of the building and made their way back to the hut. When they arrived inside, they noticed that Naraku was off in the far corner of the hut, holding an ice pack to his swollen lip, and the others were huddled together, surrounding Sango and making sure she kept warm.

"Any news?" Rin asked anxiously.

Kikyo shook her head. "Not yet... But we've reached the hour mark..."

"Which really isn't good at all..." Kagura spoke up remorsefully.

Everyone lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. A minute or two passed, with various members of the group shifting awkwardly here and there, before Charlie spoke up hesitantly. "Listen kids... I hate to say this, but–" He was cut off by the crackle of a walkie-talkie.

"Charlie? I think we found the kids!"

The room went silent in shock before Charlie scrambled for his communication device. "What was that? You found them? All of them? Are they okay?"

There was a pause before the response of the rescue worker, in which one could have heard a pin drop. "All three of them are here, Charlie, but they're not in the best of shape. They're all unconscious, but as far as we can tell, still alive. We're preparing to rush them to the hospital now."

There was but a moment of dead silence before everyone scrambled up at once and headed for the door.

..:V:..

"–ow...he?"

His eyebrow twitched. Then a violent shudder racked his body as what felt like a blanket of ice was draped over him. Faded voices distantly reached his ears and he strained to hear what they were saying.

"...Should be...ight...opefully... Best to...hospital...urry!"

Inuyasha tried to focus more, but his grip on consciousness was fast slipping and he was eventually forced to give up and slip back into the black nothingness.

..:V:..

The next sensation he felt was an intense rocking, accompanied with much jolting and overall uncomfortableness. Straining his ears, he heard the anxious voices of people hovering somewhere above him. At first they were muffled, but as he concentrated, they became more and more comprehensible.

"...Seems stable...should be there soon."

Inuyasha felt a lot warmer this time around, and his hold on consciousness was stronger as well. He was conscious of a mask covering his mouth and nose, providing him with much needed oxygen. Struggling immensely, he opened his eyes a fraction of an inch and squinted at the wavering ceiling above him.

He stared at it for a few minutes, letting his eyes adjust to the light around him, before he decided to check out the rest of his surroundings. Letting his head tilt slightly to one side, he saw a paramedic checking his vital signs and scribbling quickly on a clipboard. Another jolt came and Inuyasha realized he must be in a moving vehicle. Looking at the paramedic again, he cleverly deduced in his hazy mind that it was an ambulance.

Expending even more effort throughout his fatigued body, Inuyasha turned his head back and then let it fall to the other side. With great care, he schooled his features into a confused expression as he saw his brother sitting beside him and looking down upon him with almost a relieved countenance.

As Inuyasha struggled to lift himself up on the stretcher he was laying on, Sesshoumaru shook his head and gently pushed him back down. "Sleep, brother."

Inuyasha was too tired to argue and the invitation was too tempting. As he started to drift off into the blackness once again, he heard one more exchange.

"Um, Sesshoumaru, sir... Not that it matters too much now since he's stable, but...we wanted to keep him conscious as much as possible..."

"...Maybe _you_ did..."

..:V:..

"Ayame!"

"Kouga!"

Ayame and Kouga spun around in disbelief as a woman and an older man rushed towards them in the hospital waiting room.

"M-mom?" Kouga exclaimed, his eyes wide.

"Grandpa?" Ayame also shouted out in shock. "W-what're you doing here?"

The two adults rushed to the pair and enveloped them in hugs. Then Kouga's mother leaned back and looked her son critically in the eye. "I heard there was an avalanche at the ski hill and that Inuyasha and Miroku were caught up in it! How could I not come? Oh, and it could have just as easily been you swept up in it! Ohhh..." Tears threatened to spill from her eyes and she fervently embraced her shocked son once more.

"Ayame, are you hurt?" the older man questioned in a tone that demanded the absolute truth.

"N-no, Grandfather," Ayame responded. "Just worried sick... Kouga and I were already down at the bottom of the hill when the avalanche struck."

"Ooohhh, you were so close to it when it happened!" Kouga's mom wailed. "My poor baby!"

"Uhhh...moo-ooom...!" Kouga protested feebly.

"How are your friends doing?" Ayame's grandfather asked.

Ayame fidgeted a moment before replying. "We...we think they're okay... Sango's fine – she's just getting checked out again as a precaution. She was caught up directly in the avalanche, but was rescued early. The other three seemed to be trapped inside some sort of enclosure together. They had just passed out from oxygen depravation when the rescue crew found them. A few minutes more and...and..." Ayame's eyes misted over at this point and she dived into her grandfather's embrace, seeking comfort.

Kouga's eyes were downcast. "Yeah...those three are the ones that you should be worrying about, mom. Ayame and I were never in any danger."

Kouga's mom looked at him sharply. "The burden of knowing your friends are in danger and not being able to do anything about it is a heavy one. I'm here to support _you_ and _your_ state of mind through all this. Your mind is just as much in a crisis as their bodies are. So don't shrug me off, son."

Kouga looked at her, surprised, for a moment before nodding mutely and giving into her fussing. "Where's dad?" he mumbled into her shoulder.

She stroked the back of his head. "He still had to work, honey. But I'm here and I'll stay as long as you like."

"'Kay..." Kouga acknowledged.

After a few more minutes of reconciling between grandfather and granddaughter, and mother and son, Kouga finally broke away from his mother and pulled her over to the other pair.

"By the way, mom, this is Ayame...my, uh...girlfriend." Kouga reached out and grasped Ayame's small hand in his own.

Kouga's mother, Atrina, nodded understandingly. "Your fake girlfriend, right? The pleasant girl I talked to on the phone on the weekend?"

Kouga fidgeted nervously. "Uh...well...this is the girl you talked to, but...uh...since then, we kinda...started going out for real," he blurted the last part out.

Atrina stared blankly at her son for a solid minute as he desperately tried to avoid her gaze. "So...what you're telling me...is...?"

"That I'm his _real_ girlfriend now," Ayame broke in with a nervous giggle. "We're not just pretending anymore..."

Kouga's mother turned her fixed stare onto Ayame. After a pause, she enunciated, "I see... Ayame, would you come with me for a minute? Just to get a cup of coffee, you know..."

Gulping, Ayame nodded and gave Kouga one last nervous glance before following after his retreating mother.

Meanwhile, Kouga was left under the stare of Ayame's grandfather. "Ehehehe...Ayame didn't tell you either, did she?" Kouga laughed in a voice that betrayed his sense of impending doom.

Unexpectedly, however, the old man broke into a huge grin. "Nope, but I don't know why not! I've been telling that girl for years that she needs to get herself a boyfriend, but she keeps telling me she's not interested! Ever since her parents died in that car accident, I've been raising her on my own, but I think it's time she had another man in her life! Oho! Now I see why she's been holding out though! A professional ski racer! My goodness, what a girl I've got! Can I treat you to something at the cafeteria, young man?"

Kouga looked almost as nervous as before the old man started his tirade. "Heh, heh...oookay..."

An arm around the taller boy's shoulders, Ayame's grandfather started dragging him off to another part of the hospital.

..:V:..

Muffled voices were the first things she became aware of. Struggling, she tried to listen more closely to what they were saying and who they belonged to. The more she concentrated, the more conscious she became and finally she managed to open her eyes to the inside of a hospital room.

"Kagome!"

_That voice sounds a little too familiar..._ Kagome thought to herself. Turning her head to the side, she spied the wavering face of her younger brother – to whom the voice belonged to – and her mother and grandfather behind him. Using incoherent logic, Kagome mumbled, "That's not where I left you..."

"Oh, Kagome dear, you're alright!" her mother bustled over and enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug.

Kagome's eyes bugged out. "Erk...hi, mom..." Once her mother had embraced her for a good five minutes, fussing over her and asking if she was really alright, she finally shuffled back and let her daughter have some space. Looking around with a confused expression, Kagome ventured, "What happened...?"

"You were caught up in an avalanche, Kagome!" Souta exclaimed, almost in awe. "But the rescue team found you buried beneath it. It had been an hour, so they thought it was impossible that you were still alive, but you were! You had just passed out from not having enough air, but they got you out in time, so you're gonna be fine." He grinned proudly.

"Oh..." Kagome sighed in relief and leaned back against the propped up pillows in her hospital bed. "And what about Miroku and Inuyasha?"

"The other two boys that were found with you? They're going to be fine too," Kagome's mother affirmed.

"Oh, good..." Kagome felt her strength wane for a moment and she closed her eyes. But just then, a startling thought struck her and she bolted back up. "W-what about Sango? What happened to her? She couldn't have escaped the avalanche in time!"

Kagome's mother smiled and gently pushed her back down. "Relax, dear. You're right; Sango didn't escape the avalanche. But she managed to stay near the surface and was rescued early on. She's fine now. Everybody's fine."

All the panic left Kagome like a rubber raft deflating. Once all the anxiety left her, her mind settled on a more confusing matter. Looking over at her family, she said, "Wait a minute...what're all you doing here?"

Kagome's grandfather spoke up. "You think we're going to sit idly at home when our precious Kagome was caught up in some horrendous avalanche?"

Kagome smiled in embarrassment. "Well...I guess not. But then...how did you get here so fast?"

"Oh, well that's easy!" her mother exclaimed. "A helicopter came to pick us up, along with Sango's father and brother, and Ayame's grandfather."

"A helicopter?" Kagome asked, astounded.

"Yes," her mother confirmed. "Sent by some young man named...Sesshoumaru, I do believe."

Kagome stared at her mother in disbelief. "Sesshoumaru? Man, now I've heard everything..." She accepted a glass of water her mother offered her and took a few sips.

"Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha Dareshi's brother, isn't he? Hey, are you going out with Inuyasha Dareshi now, Kagome? Huh, huh?" Souta piped up again.

Kagome sputtered her mouthful of water into Souta's face.

"Ah, gross!" Souta protested, trying to wipe his face off with his sleeve.

Meanwhile, Kagome's mother and grandfather were still looking at her inquisitively. Seeing no way out of the situation, Kagome laughed nervously. "Ehehehe...well...kinda?"

"Kind of?" Kagome's mother questioned politely.

Souta took another approach, however. "Have you smooooched yet?"

Kagome turned bright red. "N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-NO!"

Her mother and brother exchanged knowing looks. Her grandfather, however, looked outraged. "MY Kagome? With that hooligan! This is preposterous!"

Kagome's mother turned to him. "Father...Inuyasha's not a hooligan. He's a professional ski racer. She could do worse."

"And how often will he be around for her? What will he be doing in twenty years? What will he have to show for himself?" Kagome's grandfather continued.

Kagome expression turned dead panned. "So glad you're planning so far ahead... Say, how many kids will we have?" she asked sarcastically.

Her grandfather's face turned redder than her own. "KIDS?" he nearly exploded.

"Uh...dad, why don't we go get you something from the cafeteria?" Kagome's mother broke in hastily, trying to calm her father down. Grumbling and muttering under his breath, Kagome's grandfather consented, heading out the door. Just before her mother exited as well, she scolded, "Oh, Kagome, you know better than to get your grandfather all riled up. Behave yourself when we get back."

Kagome rolled her eyes after they'd gone and sunk back into her pillows. _I didn't start the whole thing..._ she thought bitterly to herself.

As if on cue, the one who _did_ start the whole thing piped up again in a singsong voice. "So...sis has got a boyfriend...!"

..:V:..

For the third time since he fell unconscious under the snow, Inuyasha started to come around. When he opened his eyes this time, he saw the white ceiling of a hospital room and felt the crisp bed sheets encasing his body. Groggily and with much effort, he managed to push himself up to a sitting position and look around the room.

To his right was a long curtain, and he heard a few hushed voices coming from the other side of it. He deduced it was a double room, with another patient on the other side.

To his left and in the far corner, staring at him with an unerring gaze, was his brother sitting in a chair, one leg crossed over the other and hands folded in his lap. "Ah, I see you're awake, brother."

Inuyasha squinted at him in confusion. "What's going on...?"

Sesshoumaru's stare didn't break for a moment as he answered, "The rescue crew dug you out. Miroku is in the next bed over." He nodded at the curtain on Inuyasha's right.

"Oh, right...the avalanche..." Inuyasha recalled, memories flooding back. Then a thought struck him. "Well...but...what about Kagome? Is she alright?"

Sesshoumaru was silent for a long minute, but never looking away. Finally he let out a resigned sigh. "I'm sorry about Kagome, brother. We lost her..."

Inuyasha could feel his heart literally skip a beat. "W-what?" he near screeched.

"...to your rugged good looks and boyish charms. Or so the tabloids tell me." Sesshoumaru innocently held up a tabloid article bearing the faces of Inuyasha and Kagome.

It took Inuyasha at least thirty seconds to comprehend the entirety of what had just happened. Then his face contorted into something ugly and he found he had regained an amazing amount of strength. Launching himself out of bed, he dove at his placid brother in hopes of severe strangulation.

Easily fending off his enraged brother, Sesshoumaru spoke up once more, "Oh, she's fine, brother. And I'll even take you to the room she's staying in if you get a hold of yourself."

These words slowly registered in Inuyasha's homicidal mind and he eventually calmed down enough to cease his attack and just settle for a murderous glare. "Take me to her," he uttered slowly and angrily.

Sesshoumaru stood and turned towards the exit with a toss of his hair. "This way."

As they were passing by the next patient in the room, Inuyasha held back. "Hold up for a minute, Sesshoumaru." He turned towards the bed where Miroku was still unconscious, a cast enveloping his broken arm. A man that Inuyasha knew was not Miroku's father, along with a younger boy and a familiar girl, was beside his bedside.

"Sango!" Inuyasha exclaimed, going over and giving the girl a hug. "You escaped the avalanche in time!"

Sango looked relieved to see him and returned the hug in kind. "Well...er, no. Not exactly. I got caught up in it, actually. But I managed to stay near the surface and the rescue team found me in nearly no time at all. I was lucky."

Inuyasha looked at her, concerned. "Holy... Are you okay?"

Sango gave him a shaky smile. "Y-yeah. I've been warming up for a while so I'm fine now. I've moved on to worrying about Miroku."

Inuyasha glanced at the sleeping boy once again. "How's he holding up?"

Sango shrugged. "The doctors say he's going to be alright and that the broken bone isn't too serious. Still, I can't help but worry about the idiot, right?"

"True enough," Inuyasha conceded.

"Oh!" Sango exclaimed, remembering something. She gestured to the two others in the room. "This is my father and my brother, Kohaku. They came up when they heard of the avalanche. Apparently...Sesshoumaru sent a...helicopter for them?" Her question was clear as she gazed over at the stoic silver-haired man.

Inuyasha looked over in astonishment at his brother. "You did what? How'd you manage that?"

Sesshoumaru gave him a pointed look before glancing away uninterestedly. "I have my ways."

Inuyasha gave his brother a weirded-out look a moment longer before turning back to Sango. "Well...I'm really glad you're alright and that Miroku should be as well. I'll come back in a bit, but I'm just gonna go check on Kagome now, okay?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Sango encouraged. "I checked on her a little while ago and she seemed to be doing fine so I'm going to stick around until Miroku wakes up."

Inuyasha nodded. "Okay, see ya in a bit." Glaring once more at Sesshoumaru, he motioned for him to once more lead the way out the door.

As they were walking down the hallway, Sesshoumaru gave out another offhand comment, "Oh, by the way, brother, I simply _love_ your hospital gown."

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, his mind screeching to a halt as well, before speeding up into overdrive. Hospital gown...equals lack of back...and lack of any other clothes...which equals bare butt!

With a yelp, the silver-haired skier whipped his hands around him to cover his derrière...only to discover he was safely and comfortably clad in boxers. Eyes turning red, he raced after his nonchalant brother once again. "SESSHOUMARUUUU!"

..:V:..

Kagome looked up from the game of cards she was playing with her brother as the door to her room burst open.

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha was framed in the doorway, looking at her with an anxious expression. He was fully clothed and looked as if he'd just run a marathon.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried in relief, dropping her cards and holding her arms out to him. Souta barely had enough time to get out of the way as Inuyasha rushed to her side, practically crushing her to him as he buried his face in her hair.

"Oh, thank god you're alright!" he exclaimed.

"You too!" Kagome sobbed, clutching him as tightly as she could. "I thought we were both done for!"

The two clung desperately to each other as if they may never have another opportunity to be together. As they continued to refamiliarize themselves with each other, Souta shifted uncomfortably off to the side. "Er...maybe I'll just leave you two alone..."

Kagome pushed away slightly from Inuyasha and laughingly indicated the boy through her tears. "Oh, Inuyasha, this is my brother, Souta. It's okay, Souta, don't leave. We're fine now."

Inuyasha looked over at him. "Hey, squirt. Nice to meet ya."

Souta hesitantly came forward. "H-hi... You're...Inuyasha Dareshi, aren't you?"

Inuyasha gave him an easy grin. "Yeah, that's me. Heard of me, have you?"

Souta looked up at him with adoring eyes. "Y-yeah! You're the fastest seventeen year old alive! I've been following your progress for a while now!"

Kagome looked over at her brother in surprise. "You have?"

Souta crossed his arms and stuck up his nose at her. "Yeah, of course! He's awesome!"

Kagome's expression slipped from her face. "Why does it feel wrong that my younger brother knew about my boyfriend before I did?"

"You need to pay more attention to handsome sports stars, I think," Inuyasha suggested, winking at her.

Kagome adopted a thoughtful expression. "You know, _I_ think you're right! I've got to check out all the hockey and soccer stars as soon as possible!"

Inuyasha's expression faltered. "Well, not now! You've got _me_ now! You can't go looking for anyone else!"

Kagome tweaked his nose. "I was just joking, my befuddled little ski star."

"Are you _sure_ I can't leave?" Souta asked in desperation.

..:V:..

_Mmm...kiwi..._ was Miroku's first thought as he started to groggily come back to reality and an appealing aroma struck his nostrils. _Shampoo...?_

As a reflex, his hand shot out and gripped something firm, if not a bit soft. A solid slap was enough to bring him back to full consciousness. Shaking his head slightly, he rubbed his now sore cheek with his unoccupied hand, which appeared to be partially encased in a cast that went up his forearm and ended at his elbow. He blinked and looked around. It wasn't long before he grasped the whole of the situation.

His right hand was still quite attached to his dear girlfriend's bottom, and an unknown man and young boy were staring at him. Quick as a flash, Miroku retracted his hand and used it to scratch the back of his hand as he laughed nervously. "Oh, er, hello...this is awkward..."

"Miroku, this is my father and my brother, Kohaku," Sango said in a neutral voice as she indicated the strangers.

"Oh! Well, it's very nice to meet yo–!" Miroku was cut off as Sango lost her hold on her anger and gave into her great desire to smother him with a hug. "Oh!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Miroku, you big jerk! How dare you get stuck underneath that avalanche and make me worry sick about you...and then make me think you were dead! I'll never forgive you for this, you ass!" Sango shouted as she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"Sango! Language!" her father reprimanded gently, but could see it did no good.

Sango continued shouting obscenities at Miroku until he gently pried her away so he could look directly into her face. She tried to avoid that at all costs and he understand why as soon as he saw that it was completely drenched in tears. "Sango! Shhh! It's alright, I'm fine! I'm sorry about worrying you, but you know what? You worried me just as much! I was stuck in that snow enclosure andall I could think of was you...and my broken arm...and how much I would have enjoyed the sap going on between Inuyasha and Kagome if my arm _wasn't_ broken and I _didn't _have to worry about you. But that's another story _entirely_," he finished with a sly grin.

Against her will, Sango laughed and then hugged him once more. "You owe me big time, pal," she added, just to let him know she hadn't completely forgiven him.

Miroku smiled slightly and then got a better look at the cast on his left arm. "Um... Now, Sango, about this cast..."

Sango pulled away and looked down at it, her face red. "Oh... _That_..."

Her earlier sentiments towards him seemed to be immortalized in his cast in the form of even more obscenities and several exclamations of "jerk," "lech," and "pervert!"

"I was...a little...um, angry?" Sango giggled as if there were a halo over her head.

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "A little, my dear Sango?"

"Well...uh...you know..." She fidgeted nervously and avoided his gaze.

After a few moments of just making her squirm, Miroku smiled and glanced around the room again. "Well, your family's here by must-be-magical means... Did anyone else show up?"

At this, Sango's father, who had been chatting quietly with Kohaku by the door, stepped forward. "Oh, well, your father showed up earlier, but...uh, had to be escorted off the premises..."

Miroku gave him a surprised look. "What happened?"

Sango decided to field the answer. "Well, you know that..._thing_ you tend to do?" she asked as she gestured at her posterior.

Miroku gave her family members an apologetic look. "Yeah..."

"Well, apparently it's a lot less cute when grown men do it...it actually borders on illegal," Sango informed him.

Miroku's expression changed once more, this time to comprehension. "...The nurses?"

"Yeah," Sango confirmed with an unimpressed look. "I didn't realize this condition of yours was hereditary..."

"Ehehehe...yeah...it's hereditary... No fault of mine!" Miroku tried desperately to salvage his reputation with her family. Unfortunately for him, no one in the room bought it. They all just kept looking at him blankly. "Ah, well...it was worth a shot..." Miroku sighed, hanging his head.

..:V:..

"Hey, Souta!" Kohaku shouted as he came out of Miroku's hospital room and spied his friend down the hall. "Wait up!"

Souta stalled until his friend caught up with him and then the two of them made their way back towards the waiting room together. "So did your sister's boyfriend wake up yet?" Souta asked.

"Yeah," Kohaku responded. "He seemed pretty cool...but he's a bit of a pervert."

Souta laughed. "Well, _my_ sister's boyfriend's awesome! Inuyasha Dareshi, in the flesh! My sister's dating Inuyasha Dareshi! Though I can't decided whether to tease her about having a boyfriend like any younger sibling would, or to congratulate her on dating the coolest guy around..." He trailed off, lost in serious thought.

"Inuyasha? 'Coolest guy around'?" came a delicate voice off to their side. Glancing over, the boys found themselves staring at another silver-haired man.

"Er...Sesshoumaru sir?" Souta questioned.

"So sorry, boys; I just never thought I'd hear Inuyasha described in such terms," the man said by way of an explanation. "You adore Inuyasha that much?"

"Well...yeah!" Souta affirmed enthusiastically.

"I see," Sesshoumaru said. "And...do you happen to know of our father's career as well?"

"He was a really awesome ski racer as well, wasn't he?" Kohaku ventured.

"Right you are," Sesshoumaru responded. "Now...do you boys skate?"

The two boys glanced at each other. "Well...yeah, a bit..." Souta responded. "But, what–?"

"I have a very special offer for you boys," Sesshoumaru cut in. "How would you like a one-of-a-kind pair of skates designed by Inutaisho Dareshi himself?"

Souta and Kohaku blinked at him. "Wha...? Skates...?" Souta asked, confused.

"Oh, yes," Sesshoumaru said, launching his sales pitch into full gear. "State of the art. Amazing in every way. And practically brand-new! They would be a bit too big for you right now, but surely some day in the future, they would fit one of you perfectly! And–"

"Fluffy!"

The bewildered boys turned in time to see a brown-haired girl trotting up to them with an annoyed expression.

"You can't give away your father's skates! They were meant for _you_ and you _alone_! Stop trying to pawn them off to impressionable young boys!" the girl vented as she put herself directly between Sesshoumaru and the boys. Then she adopted a woeful expression. "Besides, do you really want to give away the skates that _saved my life_? Do I mean so little to you that you would give away the means to my rescue to the first people you come across?"

Sesshoumaru struggled internally for a moment before finally deciding she'd gotten him once and for all. "Damn you, Rin... Now I'll never be rid of the pink laces..."

Souta and Kohaku glanced at each other as the other pair continued to squabble. "Glad neither of our sisters went out with _him_," Souta whispered to his friend, who nodded fervently.

..:V:..

"Say...Inuyasha?" Kagome piped up. The two were alone in her room, Inuyasha sitting on the bed beside her and stroking her hair as she leaned into him.

"Yeah...?" he questioned softly.

"What do you suppose Miroku will say to the others about us...?"

Inuyasha blanched. "Um...er...nothing good?"

"That's what I thought..." Kagome said, sitting up.

Inuyasha shuffled off the bed and made his way towards the door. "You know, I think it's about time to check up on my _good_ friend. He's probably conscious and I'd like to see if he's alright..." Kagome nodded and he exited the room. "...and see if I can't bribe him to keep his mouth shut..." he added.

On his way down the hall, a smaller figure stopped him. Inuyasha glanced down to lock eyes with Kanna's eerie gaze. "Oh, hey, Kanna! Jeez, how many people _are_ here?"

Kanna gave a small shrug. "You, Kouga, Miroku, all of your female attachments, me, Kagura, Kikyo, Rin and Sesshoumaru. And your various family members."

"Gee, and Naraku didn't think to come see us? I'm hurt," Inuyasha uttered sarcastically.

Kanna didn't laugh. Instead, she just stared at him more intensely until Inuyasha was feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, she spoke. "I would like to show you something later...but before the race."

At these words, Inuyasha's mind blanked. "Oh, god, the race! I totally forgot about it! Wait, what do you mean _before_ the race? Didn't we totally miss it? Or isn't it supposed to be going on right now? Why are you here anyway?"

Kanna didn't blink an eye at Inuyasha's rapid fire questions. "The race was postponed," she said calmly. "Until tomorrow. Will you be well enough to compete?"

Inuyasha thought about it for a split second before responding. "Damn straight I'll be well enough! Nothing would keep me away from competing!"

Kanna's expression still remained passive. "Good. Then I would like to show you something when we get back to the hill later. It is something I am sure is of great interest to you."

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked blankly.

"You shall see," she answered cryptically. "I will come by your condo at eleven-thirty tonight. Make sure your roommates are asleep for I wish for you to be the only one to see this."

Inuyasha blinked. "How come?"

Kanna turned away, but gave him one last glance. "Because it is your decision and no one else's." With that, she walked off down the hall.

Inuyasha stared after her for a moment before continuing on his way. "Creepy girl..." he muttered, though his attention was soon diverted back to his original dilemma. "Now...how to shut Miroku up..."

* * *

A/N Whoohoo! A new chapter! Again, SO sorry it took so long! Hopefully we can get the rest of this lovely fic wrapped up nice and quick, hm? I shall work hard at it! Only about three chapters left, methinks! Well, ta for now! Oh, and some profoundness for you – if you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? 


	36. Payback

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, and for that, I think everyone's grateful. We all know how chapter 13 went...

A/N Hahahaha, funny story. So I had eight pages of this sucker written, right? And then my hard drive fails and I lose everything! Oh, what fun _that_ was. So here's the rewritten version, I think even slightly better than before, with the rest tacked on after.

Before I forget, I have something awesome to share with you all. Calum the Angel, one of my bestest buddies, has drawn a little doujin for this story of mine and it is hilarious. It's based on an episode from a Simpsons episode and I demand that you all check it out for added laughs! I'm putting a link to it up on my bio page so go see it as soon as possible!

Oh, and if you wish, you can refresh your memories of what a slalom race course is like by clicking on my listed homepage, also on my bio page. The ski tutorial is still there, collecting dust.

But enough out of me. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Inuyasha sighed, having heard this question about five times now. "Yes, Kagome, I'm sure I'm okay."

"You're sure you're okay to race tomorrow though?" the raven-haired girl asked anxiously.

The group was now heading back to ski hill in Kagome's van, which Ayame and Kouga had driven to the hospital earlier that day. The regular six were short a number, however, since Miroku had stayed behind at the hospital so that the nurses could monitor him overnight. He hadn't put up much of a fight due to the fact that he was not scheduled to race the next day, and because he wasn't about to protest if pretty female nurses wanted to monitor him.

Myouga, when he had heard of the fate of his students, had rushed to the hospital in the afternoon and was now also heading back to the hill in his own car. Everyone's respective relatives had checked into a nearby hotel for the night, with the intention of coming to see the race the following day. Sesshoumaru and Rin would also return for the event, picking up Miroku along the way.

"Yes, Kagome, I am. I said I'm fine to compete in the race tomorrow and I meant it. I'm more than fine. Nothing's going to stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine!"

Kagome blew out an irritated breath. "I wasn't talking about whether you were _determined_ to race. I was asking if you were _physically_ _fit _to race. Don't you think you should take a couple of days off to recover?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her. "Take a couple days off? And miss the race? There's no way in hell I'm going to do that. I'm racing tomorrow and that's final."

"But–"

"Aw, it doesn't matter if you race tomorrow or not," Kouga piped up from the front where he was driving. "I'll still win either way."

"Yeah, right!" Inuyasha shot back. "I'm gonna mop the hill with ya tomorrow, just you wait!"

"Is it really necessary to mop a snow-covered hill...?" Ayame mused to herself as Kagome rolled her eyes at the boys argument and decided to let her point drop. Sango, meanwhile, caught the victorious smirk Inuyasha and Kouga shared through the rearview mirror. Though she didn't bring the boys' manipulation of her to Kagome's attention, she stored the knowledge that they were capable of such things away for future use.

After ten more minutes of driving accompanied by idle chatter, the group arrived at their destination, Kouga parking in front of the girls' condo. The boys bid the girls good night and then trekked back to their own condominium to prepare for the race the next day.

Inuyasha cast a discreet look at his watch when he and Kouga entered their suite. 9:20. Kanna told him she'd be by around eleven-thirty, so hopefully he could get everything done and get Kouga to bed before then.

In order to get things moving, he immediately retrieved his Tetsusaiga skis and got out his wax remover. Taking his hint, Kouga also brought his slalom skis over to where his friend had sat himself down at the main eating table. As one, the two boys systematically sprayed on the wax remover, waited for a few minutes, then started sharpening the sides of their skis. Once they were satisfied, they reapplied hot wax onto the bottoms and ironed it over. While they worked, they discussed the events of the day and their thoughts on what might take place the following one.

When they had finally exhausted all topics and they were satisfied with the condition of their skis, Inuyasha feigned fatigue and declared he was heading to bed while dropping a hint to Kouga that he should do the same. Inuyasha grew nervous as he glanced at his watch a few minutes later to see it read 11:00; Kouga had still made no move towards his own bedroom and soft murmurs from the television drifted through his door. Finally, after ten more minutes, Inuyasha could hear his friend get up from the couch and shuffle into his adjacent room. Five more minutes of muffled noise and then all was silent. Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief.

As if set to a clock, fifteen minutes later, at _exactly_ eleven thirty, Inuyasha heard a soft knock sound on the condo door. Steeling himself for who knew what, Inuyasha silently opened his door and padded across the floor to the main door. Opening it, he found Kanna looking much like she always did, expressionless and utterly uninterested in everything around her. Inuyasha gave her a questioning look in order to prompt the reason for her late night call. When she ignored it and continued to just stand there, he sighed and said, "Well?"

Again, she said not a word, but instead brushed past him and went directly to the main table where his and Kouga's skis were still resting. She hefted a black case onto an empty spot of the table and unzipped it to reveal a sleek black laptop. She proceeded to turn it on as Inuyasha stared at her, wondering if she'd ever decide to reveal the purpose of this visit and secrecy.

Finally, when her computer had loaded up and she had sifted through some files, she turned to stare at him with large, glassy eyes. "Come. There is a video you must watch."

Inuyasha blew out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Is that all, Kanna? You're just going to show me one of your videos? We can do that anytime. How about you just let me get to sleep for now and I'll watch it after the race tomo–"

"Come," Kanna repeated, cutting in. "This is a video you must watch now. _Before_ the race."

Inuyasha gave her an odd look, but decide to obey her command. Kanna had always been an strange girl. Even though he and Kouga had become friends with her, Kagura and Kikyo, Inuyasha had never really spent a lot of alone time with Kanna, and he had certainly never spoken much with her since she hardly ever said anything at all. Of the three girls, she was the one he found hardest to socialize with and the one he knew the least about. For her to urge this impromptu meeting in the dead of night and insist on showing him and him alone one of her hundreds of videos shook up what little he _did_ know about her and induced more than a few questions about her to bounce around in his head. Nevertheless, Inuyasha kept silent and came up beside her, his eyes fixed on her computer screen.

"I shot this at the race yesterday," was all Kanna gave as explanation for the video before she clicked on its file and brought it up.

Inuyasha could see nothing unusual about it; it was obviously taken from a chairlift and aimed at the starting hut at the top of the race hill. Inuyasha noticed that Kouga was coming up to the starting rod and prepping for his descent. The video then shifted over to him and the rest of their friends as they cheered Kouga on. The picture kept getting closer as Kanna, holding the camera, neared the top of the hill. The image then grew even more as she zoomed in to capture the expressions on all their faces.

Inuyasha let out a frustrated breath. "I'm not seeing anything earth-shaking, Kanna..."

"He who has no patience reaps no rewards," Kanna said as way of responding.

Inuyasha gave her an irritated look. "And who said that?"

"Me," she replied simply.

Inuyasha's look slipped into one of confusion. "Oookay..."

"Look," Kanna said, pointing back at the screen and acting as if he'd never said anything at all.

Inuyasha looked back towards the video and saw that the camera view was now traveling up past him and his friends to the other racers awaiting their turn, warming up and waxing their skis. Seeing nothing out of place and becoming bored with the picture, Inuyasha started slightly as Kanna announced, almost triumphantly, "There."

Inuyasha stared frantically at the screen. "What? Where?"

Kanna paused the video then turned and stared at him. "You did not see it?" she asked after a moment.

Inuyasha glared back into her blank gaze. "Of course I didn't see it! It's the exact same as every other one of your videos! What was I supposed to see different?"

Kanna pointed to a figure on the screen. "You did not see Naraku?"

Inuyasha glanced to the image before returning his gaze to Kanna's face. "Of course I did. He's fixing up his skis before his race. What's so unusual about that?"

"Naive!" Kanna suddenly snapped and against his will, Inuyasha took a step back. "Since when does Naraku have red GS skis and since when is that the colour of _spray_ bottle Naraku uses as his favoured instant wax brand?"

Slowly, Inuyasha turned back to the screen and scrutinized it closely. As a fire slowly warms a room, so was the light bulb very slowly illuminating in his head. As the realization of what he'd just witnessed finally fully dawned on him, he dashed over to where his GS skis were and flipped one over to stare at it with attention to the tiniest detail. After a thorough examination, he swore loudly. "The base wax is nearly gone! SON OF A–"

"So now you understand," Kanna cut him off. "And now you see why it is up to you and you alone about what to do next. You have been the victim here and so it is your decision about who to tell and–"

"HE...HE _CHEATED_!" Inuyasha burst out as if he couldn't hear Kanna's words at all. "THAT POMPOUS, NO-GOOD CHEATING..._BASTARD_!"

Inuyasha was, at this point, yelling loud enough to wake the whole floor and so it was no surprise when the door to Kouga's room opened and the occupant stumbled blearily out. "Waz goin' on?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and staring at the enraged boy before him.

"Kouga, get your ass over here and watch this!" Inuyasha continued yelling, though in a slightly lower tone.

Unwilling to further upset his seemingly unstable friend, Kouga quickly obeyed, coming up beside the ever calm Kanna and looking down at her computer screen. The petite girl played the video from the beginning again and as Inuyasha continued to sputter, pointing first at the screen where Naraku was shown doctoring his skis and then to his victimized GS ski that was now laying abandoned on the floor, Kouga started slowly putting two and two together. Soon his rage was picking up as well. "He sabotaged your skis?" he nearly shrieked as his voice rose a few octaves. "He removed a good part of your base wax and beat you that way? That...that...BASTARD! What a low, cheap thing to do! I can't believe he just–"

"Believe it!" Inuyasha cut in, shouting as well. "That bastard has no scruples whatsoever! He just–"

"Yes, it is all rather terrible," Kanna cut in with a bored tone, "But the real issue here is what you wish me to do with this video. With it, we could get him disqualified for the race tomorrow. However, I thought I would leave the final decision up to you, as it is you who has lost the most from this incident. So, what shall it be? Shall I turn it over to the officials in the morning before the race?"

Inuyasha was at first thrown off guard by what was perhaps the most lengthy bit of dialogue he had heard from Kanna at one time, but then quickly regained his wits about him. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no. You're going to hold off on that video for a bit Kanna. I'm going to _race_ Naraku tomorrow." His eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously as he imagined the event. "And I'm going to _win_."

..:V:..

"WHY THAT LYING, CHEATING, DESPICABLE LITTLE CREEP!"

The girls had just been informed about that which had been brought to Inuyasha and Kouga's attention the night before.

Needless to say, they weren't too thrilled.

"WHY I OUGHTA STRANGLE THAT WRETCH UNTIL HIS FACE TURNS BLUE AND HIS EYES POP RIGHT OUT OF THEIR BLOODY SOCKETS!"

At this outburst, the males of the group wisely took a step back from the screaming, clearly murderous Sango. Even the two other girls, who had, up until this point, been rather vocal themselves, eyed their friend worriedly and leaned back a few inches.

"We're–uh, gonna go in and grab our bibs," Kouga announced before he and Inuyasha fled for the inner safety of the lodge.They waited impatiently in the mob of prepping racers for nearly ten minutes before they were able to reach the table where a few officials were assigning bibs. When they finally broke away from the crowd, Kouga was holding bib number 31 and Inuyasha number 23.

Before they even opened the lodge doors to the outside, they could still distinguish the girls' outraged voices above any others, shouting obscenities and other derogative comments the boys hadn't previously believed them capable of.

As Kouga and Inuyasha stepped cautiously outside, they realized that in their absence, Sesshoumaru, Rin and Miroku had joined their female companions. Miroku and Rin looked astonished at the news the girls had undoubtably just delivered to them while Sesshoumaru meanwhile had an eyebrow slightly raised, but otherwise bore no facial hint of disturbance.

"He...cheated? Naraku actually sabotaged Inuyasha's skis?" Rin kept repeating, as if she couldn't believe. "He really cheated?"

"Naturally," Sesshoumaru slipped in smoothly.

The whole group turned to stare at him.

Finally, Inuyasha found some lost words. "Are you implying...that you _knew_? You knew all along?"

Sesshoumaru gazed innocently back at his brother. "Was there ever any doubt? I thought it to be fairly obvious – the only questions remaining were what exactly he did and how to prove it. Now, thanks to Kanna, they've both been answered."

In the cold air, steam almost seemed to be rising from Inuyasha's entire body as he seethed and glared at his brother, about to erupt at any moment. His restraint didn't last long and he soon burst out in a string of curses directed at his brother who just stood placidly before him, idly returning a few comments whenever there was a pause.

Meanwhile, Kagome leaned over to Rin. "You know...I can't help but notice Sesshoumaru's been taunting Inuyasha a tad more than usual lately. I don't suppose there's a reason?"

Rin shrugged one of her shoulders. "Well, it just goes to show, _never_ make Sesshoumaru worry about you."

Kagome turned her head to stare at her. "Sesshoumaru's been doing all this, been tormenting Inuyasha so badly because...he was _worried _about him?"

Rin paused for a moment and then nodded cheerfully. "Yup! ...Oh, but if you ever approached Fluffy about it, he'd never admit it. Best just to let it run its course, no?"

Kagome slowly leaned back to her former position. "Riiiight..." she responded, feeling at a loss for words.

While Rin and Kagome were having their own private conversation, the rest of the group had been deciding what to do next. Inuyasha and Kouga had just finished declaring that they were going to head over to the race hill, meet up with Myouga and check out the course inspection. Sesshoumaru and Ayame had nominated Kagome and Rin along with themselves to do some recreational skiing in the meantime. And Sango had decided to stay with her injured boyfriend, who was restricted from skiing until his arm had healed, in the lodge until the race.

With this plan in mind, the group sprang into action. Sango and Miroku headed into the lodge and the others shared a gondola to the top where they then split ways. As they watched Inuyasha and Kouga head off down a slope, Kagome turned to the other three. "So today's the big day, huh?"

Rin nodded. "You betcha!"

"As long as another avalanche doesn't fall on my brother's head," Sesshoumaru responded dryly.

Rin smacked his arm. "Be good!"

Sesshoumaru let out a suffering sigh then straightened imperceptibly. "As long as that doesn't apply to my _good_ _friend_ Naraku. . ."

Rin rolled her eyes then hid a small smile.

"Well, as much as I enjoying standing unmoving atop a mountain, something tells me there's more to skiing than just this," Sesshoumaru said.

Ayame shrugged. "Then lead the way, tough guy."

Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow at her before turning and starting to push off.

Something clicked in Kagome's head as she saw his body was lined up in the direction of a double black diamond hill. "No, wait!" she blurted. "I'll pick, I'll pick!"

This inevitably earned her another raised eyebrow. Giggling nervously, Kagome rushed past the silent silver-haired man and made her way towards a blue square.

When she was not even a quarter of the way down the hill, Sesshoumaru shot past her, flowing rhythmically down the hill in a similar fashion to his brother. A moment later, Rin too sped past her, though her style seemed a tad out of control as she was concentrating more on having fun than sticking to proper form. Kagome shook her head in amusement as she wondered how she and Ayame ended up alone with these two. Their relationship was the strangest and least solidified one she had ever witnessed, and they were the only two who didn't even notice.

After a few more runs, on which Sesshoumaru finally forced the two less experienced skiers onto black diamonds, they decided to head back towards the race hill to see if the course inspection was complete yet.

As it turned out, they arrived at the top of the race hill a little early, but they decided to wait around for their companions instead of skiing a few more hills. Unfortunately, it wasn't their friends that found them first, but someone altogether different.

"Well, well, come back to the scene of the loss, Inuyasha?"

With confused expressions, the three companions turned slowly around to come face to face with none other than Naraku. He was looking smug until he realized he had mistaken Sesshoumaru from behind for his brother. With this realization, his expression slipped into one more resembling fear or panic. However, this expression was short-lived as it flickered off his face as he mastered himself. Adopting a sickly smile, he addressed the small group again. "Ah, my mistake. You Dareshis all look the same, back and front. I can't distinguish Inuyasha's ugly mug from your rear end."

Kagome sucked in a breath at this insult, fully prepared to charge Naraku when she was stopped short by the look on Sesshoumaru's face. Convincing herself he was far better at handling Naraku than she, she restrained herself in order to let him rip the prick apart as only he could.

Sesshoumaru gazed back steadily at the source of the insult with a slightly askance look. "_That_, my friend, was crossing a line. You would dare presume to compare Inuyasha's 'ugly mug' with the perfect piece of anatomy attached to my backside? Surely you jest."

Kagome completely deflated as the breath she'd been holding rushed out of her. Rolling her eyes, she heard Rin admonish Sesshoumaru and a strange guttural sound come from the direction of Naraku. Giving into temptation, she looked over at the black-haired racer to see him at a loss for words, sputtering and choking at this unexpected comeback.

On this note, Inuyasha and Kouga made their appearance, along with their ever irate coach, Myouga. They wore excited expressions up until they noticed who was accompanying their friends, and then their faces adopted scowls.

"What's this..._person_ doing here?" Inuyasha asked snidely. "Doesn't he have other people's lives to harass and ruin with his insufferable presence?"

Sesshoumaru shot his sibling a shocked look. "Brother, did you just develop a vocabulary?"

Inuyasha cast an annoyed look in his direction. "Shove off, _bro_."

Sesshoumaru gave a slight shrug. "Guess I was wrong after all... What a shame."

Inuyasha shot his brother an ugly look before directing his attention back to Naraku. "Naraku!" he cooed in a deceptively sweet voice. "How are you today?"

Naraku cocked an eyebrow at this behaviour before adopting a smug look. "I'm quite well today, Inuyasha, I thank you. And I'll be even better after I whoop your sorry butt in the race."

"What is it with you and behinds today?" Kagome wondered at the same time as Inuyasha retorted, "Geez, is that the only insult and comeback you have? Try to be original for once. Winning something with _skill_ every now and then wouldn't kill you." As Inuyasha spoke, his words became more and more derisive until they were practically dripping in scorn.

Naraku gave his rival a skeptical look as an official announced that the race was about to start. "As much as I would _love_ to boost my community service hours by sticking around to chat with charity cases such as yourselves, I need to go prepare myself to win a race. Best of disgrace to you!" he said cockily as he waved and made his way closer to the starting hut.

Inuyasha watched him go, fuming. "Well," Kagome spoke up. "At least he hadn't used _that_ insult before."

Inuyasha turned to give her a mock annoyed look. "You know, that isn't exactly helping."

Kagome fought to suppress a smile. "Oh. Sorry."

After staring into one another's gaze for a moment, Inuyasha came back to himself and turned to the others. "Alright, here's the deal! My skis are not to be left unguarded at any time! Someone will always be watching over them to make sure Naraku doesn't get up to any of his tricks again." At Kouga's expectant look, he added, "Oh, and that goes for Kouga's skis too..."

"You know, they're probably safe in any case this time," Ayame piped up. "Naraku's racer number 16 so he's going down before either of you." In the face of the uncompromising glares being sent her way via the two racers, she hastily added, "But I nominate myself for first guard duty!"

"So glad to have your eager services, _dear_," Kouga said, giving her a sarcastic smile.

"Well, aren't we a lovely happy group here just _chatting away_?" Myouga came up between his two pupils, clapping an arm around each of their shoulders. "However, might I instead recommend _warming up_ and _preparing your skis_? _Hmm_?"

Kouga let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, what an idea! Now that you mention it, it doesn't sound half bad!"

"I thought you might share that view point," his coach said, waiting for his racers to obey his "suggestion."

The others trailed after them, trying to figure out what they would do for the race. Eventually, it was decided that Sesshoumaru and Rin would head down to the bottom with Kagome so they could catch Naraku's race time and subsequently Inuyasha's when he came down. After Inuyasha had gone down and it was nearing on Kouga's turn, Ayame would ski down to the bottom as well and await his run.

Kagome pulled Inuyasha briefly aside as Myouga was instant waxing his skis. "Now...you're not still...depressed at all, are you? I mean about the last race?"

Inuyasha looked down at her, a peeved expression on his face. "Hell no. I'm just pissed off now. I mean, you know what that sabotage means, don't you?"

Kagome looked confused. "Uhh...that Naraku is a bigger jerk than we could ever have imagined?"

"Well, yes, that," Inuyasha said impatiently. "But it also means that me losing...wasn't my fault! I mean, theoretically. Who knows if I still would have lost to Kouga, but at least I probably would have whipped Naraku's butt if it'd been fair. And I'll definitely kick his butt today."

Kagome shook her head. "So much talk of bringing harsh pain to people's rear ends..."

Inuyasha chuckled. "But seriously, I'm fine. If anything, Naraku's underhandedness has invigorated me and I feel determined now more than ever to win today. And I know I can. I mean, there are some tricky looking hairpins and a particularly nasty looking flush, but I think that–"

"Whoa, whoa, now you've lost me," Kagome interrupted. When Inuyasha opened his mouth to explain, she asked, "Do I even want to know?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "They're just vertical gates instead of horizontal ones, but they're all lined up so they're one right after the other and you have to do some _really_ fast weaving–" he stopped at the baffled look on her face. "–but that's not really crucial to your overall knowledge of the universe," he finished, patting her on the head like a child.

In response, Kagome stuck out her tongue. "I could learn if I really wanted to," she pouted petulantly.

"I'm sure you could, _honey_," her boyfriend replied patronizingly.

"Oh, shove it, you," Kagome shot back, playfully shoving him. "You just love the fact that you know something I don't and you're determined to lord it over me for all time."

Inuyasha grinned. "That pretty much sums it up, yeah."

Kagome gave him a coy look. "Did you know you're cute when you're smug?"

She watched in amusement as his face turned the shade of a tomato. "I-I am not cute!" he stammered.

Before Kagome could respond, Myouga's voice filtered over to them. "What are you two doing over there? You better get a move on if you want to catch Naraku's run, Kagome, and you'd better start getting warmed up if you want to have a hope if winning this thing, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha tossed a reluctant look over his shoulder before facing Kagome again. "Well, I guess I better get moving..."

"Right," Kagome agreed, nodding but not moving.

"Was there something else?" Inuyasha asked since she seemed to be deep in thought.

"Um...yes," she finally said decisively. And with that, she reached up, clasped his face in both of her hands and dragged his head down until their lips made contact. After a lingering kiss, she released him and stepped back to survey the damage. Needless to say, Inuyasha was dazed and seemed to have forgotten where he was or what was going on. With a hidden smile, Kagome waved her hand in front of her boyfriend's face. "Hey, you! You still have a race to win! That was encouragement, not a licence to bail on the whole business!"

Blinking, Inuyasha snapped out of it and looked down at her. "I dunno...I think I'm gonna need more encouragement than that..."

"Ha!" Kagome laughed coyly. "If you do well enough, you may get a reward. But you ain't gettin' anything else until then, got it?"

Inuyasha gave her a yearning look. "You can't be that cruel..."

Kagome smirked. "Just think of it as a little extra incentive on top of all your other million reasons of why you need to win this race."

"Inuyasha! Get your butt over here!" Myouga's voice yelled.

"Coming!" Inuyasha called back irritably. Turning briefly back to Kagome, he said seriously, "I'll see you after the race. And I will win," before heading over to where his coach stood by his skis.

Kagome watched him go with a smile. "I don't doubt it," she whispered to herself. Then, pulling herself together, she turned and headed for a nearby hill where Sesshoumaru and Rin were waiting for her.

"Was slobbering over my brother really all that necessary?" Sesshoumaru greeted her.

"You're so mean, Fluffy!" Rin cut in before Kagome, red-faced, could say anything. "It was romantic!"

"Of course it was, Rin," Sesshoumaru responded blandly. "Along with that toe fungus your cousin had a few years ago."

Kagome wrinkled her nose as Rin sighed. "You're hopeless. Let's just go down and see Naraku's run! It's coming up really soon!"

"Yes, wouldn't want to miss _that_ sure-to-be exceptional performance," her ice dance partner replied dryly. "He's my _favourite_ racer. I hope you brought my 'Go Naraku Go' banner so I can cheer for him properly."

"Why, Sesshoumaru, you sound almost cranky!" Kagome said in mock astonishment. "Is something having to do with Naraku bothering you?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes slid in her direction. "Some of Inuyasha's essence may have seeped into you from your exchange of saliva. You should get that looked at."

Kagome pouted at his renewed reference to her and Inuyasha's kiss. "You ARE cranky. And mean."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Oh, how will I ever go on?" he wondered out loud before shoving off down the hill.

Rin turned to Kagome and patted her on the shoulder. "Ignore him; he's just getting tense before the race. He wants Inuyasha to beat Naraku soundly today."

Kagome looked at her in surprise. "Does he tell you all these things?"

Rin gave her a funny look then laughed. "Haha, of course not! You think Sesshy would ever admit to a thing like that?"

"Then...how do you know that's why he's acting the way he is?" Kagome asked slowly.

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. To me, it's obvious. I mean, soon you'll be able to interpret every one of Inuyasha's actions, I'll bet."

Kagome hesitated before plunging into a question that had been burning in her mind for quite some time now. "So...are you and Sesshoumaru a couple then?"

Rin's face adopted an expression that indicated suppressed laughter. "You're a funny girl!" was all she said before pushing off down the hill after the man in question.

Kagome watched her go with a dead panned look. "That doesn't really answer my question..." she muttered uselessly before giving a tiny shrug and following the enigma couple.

When she skidded to a stop at the bottom of the race hill, Kagome saw that quite a crowd had already gathered and a racer was quickly approaching the finish line amid tons of cheers. She looked around and quickly spotted Sesshoumaru and Rin meeting up with Miroku, Sango and a wide array of family members. She made her way over to the group and as soon as they noticed her, her mother, grandfather and brother hastened to close the gap and greet her warmly. Her mother gave her a hug and inquired about how she was feeling as her grandfather muttered under his breath about irresponsible boys getting her in danger and her brother gazed in awe up at the race hill as the skiers came down it. Once she had assured her family that all was well, she popped out of her skis and walked over to where Miroku and Sango were standing, looking apprehensively up the hill.

"Why hello, Kagome m'dear," Miroku greeted her. "Top o' the mornin' to ya!"

Kagome gave him a strange look. "You're weird," was all she decided to say, however.

"Hey, Kagome," Sango said, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's behaviour. "Ignore him; breaking his arm and having an avalanche fall on his head has apparently made him even odder than normal."

"Will do," Kagome conceded.

"So are the boys ready for the big race?" Sango asked.

"More than they ever thought they'd be, I'll bet," Kagome said. "I think Inuyasha would have done this race a thousand times over by now if it weren't for the fact that he has to wait his turn."

Miroku chuckled. "That sounds like him."

"So where are we in terms of racers?" Kagome asked, looking up the race hill. As she scanned what she could see of the course, her eyes roved over what had to have been what Inuyasha had referred to as hairpins and flushes: gates set up vertically one after another, alternating red and blue. One set had more gates lined up in it than another and she deduced this was what made the difference between a hairpin or a flush.

Sango pointed up at the racer coming down the course currently. "That racer there is number fourteen."

Kagome's face lit up. "Ah, and Naraku's number 16 so he should be coming down soon. Looks like we got here just in time."

Sango nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"Like nothing else," Kagome admitted. "I _really _want Inuyasha and Kouga to beat that jerk."

"So do we all," Miroku said in agreement.

The group all waited in silence as racer number fifteen came streaming down the hill and crossed the finish line with a time of thirty-seven seconds and twenty-one milliseconds. A few moments later, the announcer came on the speakers saying, "Racer number sixteen, Naraku Querei, now on course!"

"Alright, guys, it's beginning. Naraku's on his way down. Let the suspense begin," Sango said, clutching onto Miroku and Kagome simultaneously.

After what seemed like ages, but in reality was only about fifteen seconds, Naraku appeared over the rise in the hill and came racing towards the bottom, expertly weaving his way through the course. The short hairpin came first and he practically wiggled his way through it, his weight changed sides so fast. Down a little farther, nearing the end, he encountered the longer flush, through which he wove as if threading a needle. He tucked for the tail end of the course and screamed across the finish line with a time of 36.08.

Sango whistled. "That's the best time yet by a long shot..."

Kagome clutched her arm tighter. "Ooh, don't say that! You're making me even more nervous."

Naraku glanced at his time smugly, obviously knowing it was great, before heading for the opening in the temporary pen erected at the bottom of the race hill. On his way out, he passed Miroku, Kagome and Sango standing on the other side and gave them a cocky grin. "Let's see your loser pals beat that!"

The girls glared at him and Miroku gave him a mildly annoyed look before the black-haired racer laughed and headed on his way. The three friends turned back to the race, impatient to see Inuyasha come down. Unfortunately there were still six more racers to watch before the focus of their attention made his appearance and the wait was unbearable. Kagome couldn't stop pacing and Sango and Miroku started engaging in useless chatter to keep their minds off of how nervous they were.

In the middle of one of her rounds, Kagome suddenly heard the announcer's voice ring out, "Time for racer number 22: 37.25. Racer number 23, Inuyasha Dareshi, now on course." Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and she turned anxiously towards the hill. Taking a few steps forward, she clutched once more onto Sango's arm.

At this contact, Sango turned to look at her friend. Letting a half smile grace her lips, she said, "Kagome. Breathe."

Blinking, Kagome released the breath she didn't know she was holding in a rush of air. She smiled wanly at Sango before rivetting her eyes once more on the hill. Not too long after, Inuyasha's slim red figure appeared over the rise and practically dove down the hill. Kagome burst into hysteric cheers, with Miroku and Sango hooting enthusiastically beside her. Even the various family members that had gathered got wrapped up in the excitement and began screaming for Inuyasha's victory.

If Kagome had been amazed at Inuyasha's skill in skiing at any time before this point, it was nothing to the awe she now felt as she watched him flow through the slalom course. His form was flawless and he wove effortlessly around the gates as if it had been something he'd practised a million times over, committing every curve and twist to memory. He rounded each gate tucked up impossibly close to the inner pole. Since he leaned in so close to each pole, he would hold out the opposite hand in front, so that his pole could take the impact that would otherwise strike him directly in the chest. As he bashed each pole, they would smack down on the snowy hill, then spring back up once he had raced past. Some he even struck so hard they popped out of the hole they were plunged into, or broke entirely at their base. Once that happened, workers stationed on the race hill would hurry out to stick the poles back in their slots, or replace them with new ones.

Inuyasha skied through the hairpin with ease and continued down the rest of the course. He wriggled through the flush with speed unimaginable, striking all of the gates in his way with the same hand since he had no time to switch. Finally, he crouched and skated vigorously until he swept across the finish line, kicking up an impressive amount of snow as he attempted to stop before the barrier of the pen.

Everyone burst into even greater applause and screaming as they saw the stopped time reading 36.07 seconds. As Inuyasha exited the pen and came breathlessly over to where his friends and brother waited, Kagome threw her arms around his neck. "Way to go, Inuyasha! You've got the top time now! You beat Naraku by one millisecond! Holy crap, it was close!"

Inuyasha grinned wanly as he stuck his poles in the snow so he could wrap his arms around his girlfriend. "Well, that's certainly good news, but it's a little _too_ close. We still have another round to go and one millisecond can easily be overcome during that. I have to keep on my toes."

"Yes, really, brother. Is that the best you can do?" Sesshoumaru asked nonchalantly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "So sorry, _brother_. I'll try to do better next time."

"Yes, please do," Sesshoumaru responded with a toss of his hair.

Meanwhile, someone had a completely opposite point of view. "Wow, Inuyasha! You were _amazing_!" Kagome's little brother, Souta, shouted. "You handled that course as if you'd done it a million times in your sleep! Damn! I wanna be a ski racer when I'm older!"

"Souta, language!" his mother admonished him. Then, turning to the embracing couple, she said, "I must admit though, this is all incredibly thrilling. Why, your heart almost stops as you watch your preferred racer come down the hill as the clock keeps counting up more and more. I almost think that the race is more taxing on those watching it than racing it!"

"You got that right!" her daughter agreed. "_He_ may be getting a thrill, but I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown when I watch him race."

"We're really going to have to cure you of that," Inuyasha said, smirking down at her. "After all, I plan to make you watch a lot of my races in the future. And really, there's nothing to worry about. I _always_ win."

Kagome stuck out her tongue at him. "You can claim that _after_ this race, macho man. I won't relax until then."

"Hooligan..." her grandfather muttered under his breath. Fortunately, the only person who heard him was his daughter and she quickly gave him a jab in the ribs for it.

"Heeey, guys!" The group turned around to see Ayame approaching, waving as she did. She skidded to a stop, popped out of her skis, and made her way over to them. "Kouga's about to come down soon. Hey, Inuyasha, you had an amazing start. How was your time?"

"Inuyasha has the top spot now," Kagome said proudly. "He beat Naraku by _one millisecond_. Isn't that incredible? He got a time of 36.07."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Ayame said. "Congrats, Inuyasha. Keep it up and Naraku'll be running for his mommy!"

As it so happened, Inuyasha spotted Naraku walking past and couldn't let the opportunity go. "Hey, Naraku, what happened? Couldn't pick up enough speed to decrease your time by even one millisecond? Are you slipping?"

Naraku sneered, but didn't miss a step as he continued on his way, calling back, "We'll just see how the second round goes, Dareshi! That'll determine the real winner!"

After Naraku had gone out of earshot, Inuyasha pretended to think. After a moment, he said, "You know, I thought it over and I can't help but come to the conclusion that again, it'll be me."

"It better be, or you'll be getting no reward," Kagome threatened him semi-seriously.

Inuyasha chuckled. "And I certainly can't miss out on _that_."

"Oooh, listen, everyone! They just announced that my Kouga's on his way down!" Kouga's mother, Atrina, spoke up excitedly.

Not a moment after she spoke, Kouga appeared over the rise and started flowing down the hill like the racers before him. He expertly navigated his way down, bashing the gates just as hard as Inuyasha had and uprooting a few himself. The hairpin and flush gave him no trouble and he crossed the finish line with a majestic flair.

"Time for racer number 31: 36.12. Racer number 32, Daiki Tamaka, now on course."

"You're awesome, Kouga!" Ayame screeched, hardly giving Kouga enough time to exit the pen before she pounced on him.

Kouga grinned as he lifted his goggles off his face to rest atop his helmet. "How'd I do in the grand scheme of things?"

"Weeeell," Sango said as she thought. "As far as I can remember, no one breached 36.20 before Naraku went down and I'm pretty sure he and Inuyasha have been the only ones since then to do so, so...that should put you in third place, I believe. Naraku was four milliseconds faster than you, and Inuyasha one millisecond faster than him."

Kouga whistled. "It's that close? This is gonna be a harsh race... Ahh, I can't believe Naraku beat me though! I'll get him next run for sure! But hey, Inu man, you scraped by Naraku by the skin of your teeth!"

"Just about," Inuyasha agreed, grinning. "Gotta keep it up for the next run, though, eh?"

"Hell, yeah! That weasel is _not_ coming away from this with gold, especially with us knowing what we know. I say we give the next run down our absolute all - no holding back. We pull all the stops and deliver Naraku the losing position he deserves," Kouga dictated grimly.

"I say cheers to that!" Inuyasha agreed. "Now let's get a few more runs in before they finish up the first round and move onto the second."

"Hear, hear!" Ayame cried, raising a pole in the air as sign of her enthusiasm.

"Sango, how about you go with them and ski a few runs yourself?" Miroku suggested. "You haven't been out yet today and I'd hate to think that you'll be restricted for the rest of the trip to Miroku duty. I don't want you to not go out and ski because of me."

His girlfriend gave him a worried look. "I don't think of this as a duty, silly. But are you sure? Won't you be lonely?"

"We'll take good care of him!" Sango's dad spoke up merrily, clapping Miroku on the back. "Just leave the scoundrel to us."

Sango winced. "Did you have to put so literal a term to him?"

Her father adopted an innocent expression. "What? I was joking!"

Sango eyed him suspiciously. "Sure, you were..." Turning back to Miroku, she said, "Alright, I'll go ski with the others for a few runs. Then I'll come back down and watch the rest of the race with you. Please don't listen to anything my father says and I hope to find you in one piece upon your return."

"Well, that just won't do since I fell to pieces the moment I met you," Miroku delivered with an earnest expression.

Sango immediately turned beet red. She looked quickly around at all the people staring and snickering at the couple before hitting Miroku in the shoulder. "Shut up," she muttered, though it was distinctly lacking any trace of anger.

The others laughed, except for Sesshoumaru and Sango's father; Sesshoumaru for obvious reasons and her father since he seemed to be debating between smacking Miroku himself or letting it slide. In the end, the hand he had on the younger boy's back tightened its grip, but the man attached to it remained silent.

"Alright, I hate to break the love birds apart, but let's hit the slopes!" Rin chirped.

After a few more plans were made to reunite between the kids and the family members, the kids headed off to the nearby chairlift. Riding it to its top, which was halfway up the mountain, they disembarked and picked out a hill. They skied down a few runs before checking back with the race to see where they were at. Seeing that they still had a few more racers to go for their first runs, they decided to ski a bit longer. Sesshoumaru and Rin broke off from the group soon after to go rejoin the adults and Miroku.

Eventually the rest of the group returned to the race area to see that they had gone through eleven racers in the second round. Inuyasha and Kouga then popped off their skis, deciding now was a good time to start preparing for their runs.

Myouga rushed over to them, congratulating them on their runs, but grumbling about how they could still do better. His two racers were unusually focused that day, and taking the competition dead seriously. This fact seemed to put their coach off slightly, but it was not an unwelcome change.

Without words, Inuyasha handed his skis over to the older man so he could wax them, and in the meantime, he began to strip down to his speed suit.

Kagome shivered just looking at him. "Aren't you cold?" she demanded.

A mischievous grin crossed Inuyasha's face. "Why, Kagome, I thought you were going to keep me warm!" he proclaimed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close before she realized what was going on.

"Ahhh! The spandex has me!" she cried in distress, looking to her friends for help.

"You know, I'd help you out, Kagome," Ayame said, wincing, "but I really don't want to get in danger of being sucked in myself."

"Ayame, behind you!" Sango yelled shrilly, pointing to something behind her friend.

Ayame glanced back just in time to see Kouga, his jacket open and revealing his own speed suit, make as if to engulf her with his arms. She shrieked briefly and just managed to skip out of the way as her boyfriend stumbled forward. As everyone laughed, Myouga shook his head. "I knew it was too good to be true..." he muttered bitterly.

Once everyone had settled down again, Sango and Kagome decided to take the leave of the rest of them in hopes of catching Naraku's run. Kagome pried herself free of Inuyasha and the two girls waved as they went off to find a slope to ski down.

When they skidded to a stop at the bottom, they saw the rest of their fan club lined up against the pen already. Rin noticed the two of them and beckoned them over urgently. "Naraku's on course right now!" she yelled over the din the other fans were making.

Kagome and Sango popped out of their skis hastily and rushed over to stand beside her. They looked up at the hill to see Naraku rocketing down the steep part of the slope, taking all the gates in stride and showing perfect form. They glanced at the clock with bated breath, seeing the low time slowly increase. In their heads, they slowly begged for it to speed up so that he'd have a higher time as he crossed the finish line.

Twenty-six, twenty-seven...

Naraku aced the hairpin and continued at lightening speed for the flush.

Thirty, thirty-one...

He navigated smoothly through the flush and raced towards the finish line in a deep crouch.

Thirty-four, thirty-five–

"Time for racer number 16: 36.02."

The group huddled around the pen felt their stomachs clench up. None of them spoke for several seconds before Sango tentatively said, "That...was faster than last time. He beat Inuyasha's last time too!"

"Well," Kagome said shakily. "It was only five milliseconds faster than Inuyasha's last run. I mean, it's not totally out of his reach yet. He can make that up. Don't you think so?"

"Of course he will make it up," Sesshoumaru retorted expressionlessly. "He's not a _complete_ incompetent. He does have some of my blood in him after all. If he doesn't win this, he can consider himself disowned from the family."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Kagome cried, shocked.

"Oh, no! Don't worry about it!" Rin hastily insisted. "Sesshy threatens to disown Inuyasha nearly every day! He's not serious!"

"No, not that!" Kagome corrected, still in shock. "Sesshoumaru just admitted that he shared blood with Inuyasha and that Inuyasha wasn't completely incompetent! Is he _feeling_ _alright_?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a look that spoke volumes. "I trust I'll never hear from you about this again?"

Under the chill of a glare that could rival the bite of a dozen icebergs, Kagome lost her resolve and started quaking. "O-of course. I heard nothing."

"That's what I thought," he replied mildly, focusing his attention back on the race.

Interestingly, Naraku didn't come over to taunt them, but stayed at another spot around the pen, watching the rest of the race intently. He seemed tense, bearing the look of one who's done all he can and is now waiting to see what fate deals him in return.

The others felt relief at this break from him, especially since they were all shook up from the amazing time he'd just attained. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited impatiently for all the racers between Naraku and Inuyasha to come down. As a reflex, they'd check each skier's time, but their fears were always put at ease as none breached even 36.15. Nevertheless, their mental resolve was put to the test as the stress of awaiting Inuyasha's last run continued to build and they had to wait through each of the other racers' runs before he was up.

After what seemed like a century, the announcement they'd all been waiting for came over the loudspeaker. "Racer number twenty-three, Inuyasha Dareshi, now on course."

Instinctively, Kagome latched onto the nearest person to her. Unfortunately, that ended up being Sesshoumaru, but he surprisingly didn't pull away. He hardly gave her a glance at all, in fact, so intent was his gaze on the race hill.

After a while, when the clock read fifteen seconds, Kagome's grip tightened in panic. "Where is he? Shouldn't he have come over the rise already? Is it just me or is he taking too long?"

No one answered her, but they didn't have to since not a moment after the words had left her mouth, Inuyasha nearly flew over and down the crest of the hill, leaving decimated slalom gates in his wake. If he had looked determined on the previous run, this time around, he looked like the idea of losing didn't even exist in the same universe as him. He ripped through the course, cutting around the turns with indescribable grace and unimaginable speed. He left the snow behind him looking completely undisturbed, and it was as if he'd never been there in the first place.

The whole crowd at the bottom of the hill held their breath as he descended, watching the clock tick up with dread. For Kagome, it was the opposite situation as the one where Naraku had come down – she was wishing that the clock would slow down to allow Inuyasha to make a speedier time. As far as she could tell, however, he wasn't any farther ahead than Naraku had been in terms of time and where he was on the course.

Twenty-four, twenty five...

Inuyasha came out of a particularly tight turn with ease and made a beeline for the hairpin. Swishing through it as if it weren't even there at all, he continued his rampage towards the finish line.

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine...

As Inuyasha took on the flush, his body moved almost akin to a wave, flowing back and forth as he shifted his weight from side to side.

Thirty-one, thirty-two...

The gates in his path stood no chance as he knocked them on his way through. For the finish, he tucked down and skated towards the line as if hell's demons themselves were on his tail. Rocketing across the finish line, he swung his skis to the side so as to stop his incredible speed. An impressive amount of snow flared up and Inuyasha skid so far as to make his body parallel to the ground. Without resistance, he flopped down on the snowy surface, expending only so much effort as it took to raise his head from the ground and see his time on the display board. He was hardly aware of the deafening amount of noise resounding behind him as only one voice broke through it all.

"Time for racer number 23: 35.96."

Inuyasha let his head drop back to the ground as a choked laugh came out of his throat. Another one soon followed, and another after that until he was full-out laughing and clutching his sides for lack of breath. Slowly, the rest of the sound he'd previously tuned out crescendoed in the background and he could finally hear all of the cheers and whoops that drowned out everything else.

Eventually, once he'd finally caught his breath and gotten his laughing under control, he rose unsteadily to his feet and shuffled out of the pen. Almost immediately, he was assaulted by a small figure whose arms latched around his neck and whose lips burned his in a searing kiss.

When he and Kagome broke away from each other, Inuyasha grinned wildly down at her. "That was _definitely_ the reason I sped so fast to the bottom."

As she giggled in response, Inuyasha suddenly noticed that they were surrounded by the rest of their friends and family. . .in other words, witnesses of their quick exchange. His face immediately turned a few shades redder, but he was really too exhilarated to care. Kagome didn't even seem to notice anyone but him, which was probably a good thing since her brother was making gagging motions, her mother had a slightly shocked look upon her face and her grandfather looked like he was about to have an aneurism.

Miroku clapped his buddy on the back with his good hand. "Way to go, man! You _smoked_ that course!"

Inuyasha was still breathing hard, but he managed to address the crowd around him. "I was at the top prepping with Myouga when we heard Naraku's time announced. It was a bit of a shock, but I _knew_ I could beat it if I put my absolute all into it. There was definitely no holding back on that run," he admitted, panting.

"And look who knows it," Sango spoke up, pointing at something a distance behind him. Inuyasha turned and caught sight of Naraku with a particularly nasty expression on his face. This made Inuyasha grin again in exultation.

"Damn, you guys have no idea how good this feels," he told them all with a laugh.

"About the exact opposite of how you felt after the last race?" Kagome asked.

"That about sums it up!" he replied cheerfully.

"Well, you certainly deserve it after what _he_ did to you," she said, nodding in Naraku's direction.

Hugging her tightly, he said loudly, "Man, this day can't get any better!"

"Inuyasha!" Everyone turned to see Ayame approaching. "I heard your time from the top! That was incredible! Congratulations!"

If possible, Inuyasha's grin widened. "Thanks, Ayame! I gotta say, I'm pretty overwhelmed by it myself right now."

"Well, just so you know, Kouga's determined to beat you," she retorted, but with a joking smile at the corner of her mouth.

"That's what I like to hear. Not like he can, but he's welcome to try," he replied, though his expression matched hers.

After more congratulations were offered to the elated racer and he took the group around him through every turn of the course blow by blow, it was Kouga's turn to come down the race hill. They all turned towards the slope filled with eagerness.

Not too long after, Kouga shot over the rise and ripped up the course lying before him. Like Inuyasha had done before him, he nearly destroyed the poles on his warpath towards the finish.

"Man, he _is_ going as fast as you," Sango whistled to Inuyasha.

"If it's one thing that guy knows, it's how to pick up speed," Inuyasha replied, his eyes rivetted on the boy screaming towards them. "He has a little more difficulty navigating the tight turns of slalom usually, but that doesn't seem to be slowing him down today."

Kouga proved this last statement of Inuyasha's as he zipped through the hairpin and flush in record time, sweeping across the finish with an impressive time of 35.97 seconds.

The crowd immediately burst into cheers and hollers, along with many people banging their poles together for more noise.

"Talk about close times today!" Sango shouted over the din. "He was one millisecond behind you, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha was the first to greet Kouga as he came out of the pen. "That's what I'm talking about, man!" he shouted, sharing a one armed guy hug with him.

"Hells yeah!" Kouga replied, breathing hard. "Now to figure out if that beats Naraku. He only got 36.02, right?"

"Yeah," Miroku spoke up as he came up beside his best friends. "Which gives him 72.10 seconds overall. Your first run was 36.12, right?" When Kouga nodded, Miroku continued, doing the calculations in his head, "So that would give you...72.09. Damn, you beat him by a millisecond!"

"What _is_ it with that number?" Sango wondered aloud, though she soon abandoned the train of thought as she joined in with everyone to congratulate Kouga.

"And _you_, my friend," Miroku said, addressing Inuyasha, "will have overall...72.03. You soundly took away this one. Unless some other racer magically pulls something inhuman out of his ass, you've got this one in the bag."

Suddenly a string of crude epithets brought their attention to the one member of the congregation that wasn't too pleased with the turn of events. Naraku stood not too far away, swearing and cursing with a downright foul expression on his face. He kicked at the snow harshly and looked as if he'd love nothing more than to tear something, or someone, apart.

As for the group watching him, they shrugged and went back to celebrating amongst themselves. "Okay, _now_ this day can't get any better!" Inuyasha proclaimed.

"Ah, but what about tonight's banquet?" Kagome replied archly. "You know, when you'll awarded gold in front of _everybody_."

"Oh, I give up! Today's just pure awesome!" Inuyasha laughed.

"I agree!" Kouga said, pumping a fist in the air.

"Oooh, and how about when we deliver Naraku his just desserts?" Kagome continued.

Inuyasha looked down at her in mock frustration. "I've already declared my position on this day. But speaking of which...we should probably find Kanna. Has anyone checked in on the girls' race?"

"Why do you think I'm without a father today?" Miroku asked dryly.

"Ah," several people chorused around him.

"Shall we head over there now and check in?" Ayame suggested. "We can tell Kanna the good news while we're there and give her the okay to hand in her video to the officials."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kouga said, and the others consented as well.

"Well, if you kids are going to head off, us parents are probably going to head back to the hotel," Kagome's mother spoke up as the kids were preparing to leave. "Congratulations again, Inuyasha. Kouga, you as well. Amazing job, boys."

"Thank you," Inuyasha replied earnestly as Kouga nodded.

"Are you going to come back for the banquet tonight?" Rin asked the various family members.

Mrs. Higurashi looked a bit surprised. "I thought that was only for racers and their dates."

"Well..._technically_," Rin admitted. "But don't worry; Sesshoumaru can get you in."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Higurashi asked uneasily.

"Have faith in the man, Keiko," Sango's father told her. "He somehow got a bloody helicopter to come pick us up. I honestly believe there's nothing he can't do."

"I like this man," Sesshoumaru told to the crowd. "He has a glimmer of intelligence."

Sango's father chuckled humourously then beckoned to Kohaku. "Come along, son. Time to head back to the hotel. In fact, it might be better to go shopping for something decent for the both of us to wear to this thing tonight. When I heard my daughter had been swept up in an avalanche, my first thought wasn't exactly to pack my good dress clothes..."

At this comment, the various family members all conceded this was a good idea and began to depart, bidding their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, or grandchildren good-bye. Finally, the original six friends were left alone with Sesshoumaru and Rin.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stared at each other for an extended period of silence, in which the others grew distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, Sesshoumaru said slowly, "Congratulations, brother. You did something right."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he said dryly.

After a moment more, during which it became quite obvious that Sesshoumaru was not going to offer anything more, Sango piped up, "Well? Shall we go see Kanna?"

"Lead the way, m'dear," Miroku encouraged.

"I would absolutely love to, except for the fact that I don't know where the girls' race is being held..." Sango replied wryly.

"Ah. Well, then follow me!" Miroku commanded, starting to walk away.

As the others trailed behind him, shuffling slowly on their skis, Kagome came up beside Inuyasha. "Was that the best Sesshoumaru could manage?" she asked. "Couldn't he have lightened up for once and given you a _real_ congratulations."

Inuyasha chuckled. "That _was_ a 'real' congratulations. At least for Sesshoumaru. Anything else and I would have been disturbed for the rest of the day. The foundation on which all my beliefs are based on would have been completely shaken. After all, if there's one universal truth in this world, it's that Sesshoumaru is constant. Never wish for him to change 'cause I think the world would end if he did."

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A/N ...And there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for two more chapters and a special surprise at the end! ...Though it also got deleted along with everything else on my hard drive so I'll have to retype it...

Anyways, don't you think it's a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do practice? (Once again, courtesy of George Carlin)


	37. The Final Step of Revenge

Disclaimer: Okay, SWAT team, move into position and–what? No, I don't own him! ...yet.

A/N Howdy, folks! Long time no see! Sorry to those of you who I told I would be updating a couple weeks ago. Here's the latest chapter now – the second-last one! And just to assure you all, there will be NO sequel. After this fic is complete, my focus will go entirely to my other neglected fic, In the Shadows.

Congratulations to Puppi and Scyco Sphinx for being my 1600 reviewers!

And guess what, everybody? **MY BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW, FEBRUARY 23!** Rejoice! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the greatest gifts you could give me are really long reviews! I love long reviews and just to assure anyone who wondered, I read EVERY SINGLE review and love them all! I'm a little hyper right now so I'll just get out of your way now and let you enjoy my birthday present to you all!

* * *

"Remind me of the plan again."

"What is so complicated, little brother?" Sesshoumaru asked, gazing steadily down at his sibling. "You and Kouga escort your dates to the banquet and I shall arrive soon after with the rest of the party."

"Yes, but _how_? How do you plan to get them in?" Inuyasha asked in frustration as the group of boys and Rin walked towards the girls' condo, all dressed up for the night.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass you onto my agent for this question," Sesshoumaru responded flippantly.

Inuyasha gaped. "Wha...? You'd pass off your own brother to–?"

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Dareshi has no further comment on this topic," Rin piped up cheerfully.

Everyone's stare shifted from the older Dareshi brother to his ever-happy ice dance partner. "You're...his agent?" Kouga asked hesitantly.

Rin laughed. "Well, not _officially_. It's just a joke really."

"A joke?" Sesshoumaru broke in seriously. "You said you would do this for me, Rin. You said you would make them stop throwing underwear at me."

"You mean us? Throw our underwear at you?" Miroku asked, confused.

At this, Rin burst into a fit of giggles. "No, not you guys, silly. All of our fans. Fluffy can't seem to get the fans to understand that he doesn't want their undergarments or other personal belongings. 'Course, this is largely due to the fact that he never _speaks_ to them in large groups. So he's nominated me to speak for him as his 'agent'."

The others stared at the two of them for a moment before Inuyasha said, "You two have the weirdest relationship ever." Of course, he was met only with Rin's laugh and Sesshoumaru's silence.

Soon after, they reached the girl's condo door and Kouga rapped smartly to let them know of their arrival. A muffled "Coming!" sounded through the thick door and a moment later, a stunning Ayame opened it to them. She was clad in a strapless dress of a deep forest green colour. It hugged her upper body and flared out in folds just below her hips, ending just below the knees. Around her neck, she was sporting an elaborate necklace with a large green jewel as its centre focus. The top half of her hair was split down the centre and french braided around each side to join in a clip in the back, from which it then flowed freely along with the rest of her tresses. She wore little make-up, but her eyes were undeniably accentuated and their green colour complimented the dress perfectly. The boys couldn't help but stare, even when only one of them was her boyfriend. For his part, he was thanking his lucky stars while pinching himself to ensure that he wasn't just in a dream and she really _was_ his girlfriend.

"Oh, the boys are here?" Sango's voice floated to them. "On time this time? I'm shocked!"

"Sesshoumaru's with them," Ayame responded by way of explanation.

"Ah," Sango said in understanding as she came into view. It was the boys' turn to stare once again.

This time around, a sleeveless maroon dress clung to the curves of Sango's body, accentuating them beautifully. The collar was high around her neck and when she turned around to grab her purse, the group could see how the material of the dress crisscrossed in thin streaks all down the length of her back, exposing quite a bit of flesh. The dress was floor length, but her matching heels could be seen peeking out underneath. Her hair was left brushed and down for the most part, but her bangs were clipped back elegantly and their absence gave her face a whole new sophisticated and mature look. A hint of purple eyeshadow was brushed on her eyelids and her shimmering lips quirked in a smile as she saw the shocked looks of the three boys in front of her. As for Sesshoumaru, he seemed unimpressed and irritated that his male companions had just turned into statues. As for Rin...well...

"Oh, Ayame! Sango! You guys look fantastic! You're going to outshine everyone there! Ooh, I'm so jealous. I look like a peasant in comparison! You too are so beautiful looking and I–"

"You look fine, Rin," Sesshoumaru cut in tersely. "There's no need to yammer on so."

"Oh. Well, okay, then!" she babbled on, still rather happily. "Still, though. You guys look amazing. Where's Kagome?"

"I'm here, I'm here! Just putting on my shoes!" their missing friend's voice called.

Recovering slightly, Inuyasha called back, "Are those the same ones that made you almost sprain your ankle in the snow last time?"

"And what if they are?"

"Are you expecting me to carry you again?" he teased.

"Mleah. _No_, Inuyasha, I am not. I thought we might take a more paved and stable footing route this time, thanks. Your services are not required."

"Oh good. Because I was thinking of having to charge you otherwise. I could open a whole business, really. 'Inuyasha's Carrying Services. Give me money, I'll carry you somewhere.' What do you think?"

"Oh, yeah. You'll make millions with that slogan. I mean, sign me up as your first customer."

"You already were my first customer. I think it actually dates back to when I saved you from the snowplow that night we met. That means that all this time, you've been getting my services for no charge whatsoever. From now, you'll have pay like everyone else," Inuyasha said haughtily.

"I'm your girlfriend. Now you want to make me pay you? That doesn't seem fair."

"Nor does all of us standing around listening to this ridiculous mating ritual. My contacts mustn't be kept waiting or else the excess bit of this group will never get into the banquet and your flashy gowns and hours of primping will all be for naught," Sesshoumaru interrupted the pair.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru, sir," Kagome said in mocking tone. "Okay, I'm ready." With that, she came the rest of the way down the stairs and into view, completely erasing anything witty Inuyasha might have thought of saying from his mind.

Deviating from traditional styles of dress, Kagome was wearing one of Chinese orientation. It was mainly black, but lined with red accompanied by a red dragon snaking its way up the side of the skirt. Glimmering chopsticks held up the top half of her hair in a small bun, with thin tendrils framing the sides of her face. The bottom half was hanging loosely down around her shoulders and red stud earrings shone from her earlobes. Soft red eyeshadow graced her eyelids and a few bracelets hung from one of her wrists to complete the image.

"You look, uh, nice," Inuyasha gulped.

Kagome's eyes glittered. "Why thank you, good sir. You don't look half bad yourself," she admitted with a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"Very pretty," Rin gushed to the girl. "I wish I could pull off that dress as elegantly as–"

"Rin," Sesshoumaru cut in.

"Right, sorry. Okay, then! Now that we're all ready, let's go to the banquet!" she declared happily, pumping a fist in the air. Everyone regarded the energetic girl with amusement...except Sesshoumaru who had already turned and walked out the door. The others shrugged and followed.

..:V:..

"Kill me now," Kouga moaned as yet another official in a suit walked up on the raised platform to give a speech. Half the racers attending the event already seemed asleep.

"Thanks for the exciting date, Inuyasha," Kagome said wryly.

Silence greeted her.

Kagome looked over to see Inuyasha slumped in his chair, his head thrown back with his eyes closed and his mouth hanging slightly open. Giggling softly, she poked his shoulder. With a start, Inuyasha straightened up, eyes snapping open and looking around in surprise. "What? What happened?"

"You're drooling," Kagome informed him with a serious face.

Red sprouting on his cheeks, Inuyasha cried frantically, "What?" Wiping at his mouth and discovering nothing out of the ordinary, his embarrassed expression turned into a glare at his girlfriend. "Why you..."

Kagome snorted, trying to keep in her laughter and not alert everyone in the hall to how much she wasn't paying attention to the man on stage. To distract herself, she took a last bite of her dinner to polish off her plate, as the other three at the table had done long ago.

Finally, after ten more minutes, the man up front said, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We'll just take a short break to clear the tables and then we'll announce the final results of the competition."

"Thank the lord," Ayame exclaimed. "I thought this moment would never come. This was worse than the first one."

"Well, it just became significantly better," Sango's voice sounded behind them. Turning around, the group of four was met with the sight of their previously absent friends and family.

Kagome's face lit up. "Ah, you got in! _And_ you just missed the most boring part! How'd you do it?"

Miroku cast a furtive, almost awestruck glance at Sesshoumaru and then leaned forward conspiratorially. "We've all been sworn to secrecy, but let me just say that _damn_ is he good!"

Inuyasha scoffed. "Sworn to secrecy? That's a load of–"

"No, really, man. I'm not crossing your brother in this," Miroku insisted. Looking around, it was clear that no other member of the recently arrived group was willing to talk either. All looked suitably impressed, however. Sesshoumaru just looked as bored as ever.

"Keh. Whatever," Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just steal some chairs from the sides of the hall and sit down. They're about to announce my awesome win."

Kagome sighed. "Can't you at least _pretend_ to be modest?"

Inuyasha blinked. "How come?"

She just shook her head at him with a small smile. "Oh, never mind. I suppose you deserve to be at least a little arrogant tonight."

"Too right," he agreed, nodding fervently.

After everyone had secured a place at the table, invading a few others' personal bubbles in the process, and the dirty dinner plates had been taken away, an official bounded up on stage once more.

"Alright, everyone, now it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for! Without further ado, I'd like to announce the results of today's race!" A burst of cheering and applause met this announcement and as it quieted down, the man pulled a folded slip of paper out from his jacket pocket.

The announcements went quickly, starting with the female division. Kikyo had placed third, with Kagura in second and Kanna in first. Kanna's claim of the gold medal was met with much cheering, especially from Inuyasha's table.

Afterwards, the male standings were announced, with Inuyasha and Kouga claiming the top two spots and, surprisingly, Naraku stepping up to third place. However, just as the latter was claiming his medal, another official came dashing into the ballroom and up to the stage to hand the announcer a new slip of paper. Reading it over quickly, the announcer cleared his throat and leaned in to the microphone. "Uh...due to some...extenuating circumstances, I'm afraid Naraku Querei has been completely disqualified from this competition. As such–"

"WHAT?" Naraku's screech echoed throughout the room.

"Ahem, um, as such, Kageromaru Hyoshi shall be bumped up to third place in these slalom standings. Consequently, Inuyasha Dareshi will be moved up to second place in the GS and Juromaru Hyoshi will take third place in that race. If those two last racers mentioned will come see me after the proceedings, an exchange and granting of medals shall take place. And oh, Naraku. I'm afraid you will have to come see the council afterwards as well," the announcer finished, looking in Naraku's direction.

As it was, Naraku was simply fuming, though it also seemed as if he were fighting down his increasing humiliation. Finally, with a huff, he shoved his bronze medal back at the official who had initially handed it to him and stormed out of the ballroom. The room was silent for a good thirty seconds before the announcer coughed nervously into the microphone, commanding everyone's attention once again. "Right...well. Despite that unhappy news, there is still much cause for celebration. Kageromaru! Could you please come up and receive your bronze medal? And then we'll get this dance going as I'm sure it's what you've all been waiting for!"

This announcement was met with enthusiasm and after a brief interlude where Kageromaru received his medal and the boys all posed together for pictures, everyone sprang up and quickly shuffled towards the dance floor.

Soon they regretted it, however, when nothing but vague resemblances of rap rang out across the room. The group of friends all stopped in their tracks, covering their ears. "What kind of an idiot DJ plays rap at a dance?" Sango yelled angrily over the noise.

Kagome groaned. "You can't dance to this... All it has is a beat without any rhythm or tune!"

"Well, to be fair," Sesshoumaru spoke up, "you could always do what everyone else is doing and sway back and forth from one foot to the other. Or, as I like to call it, do 'the metronome'."

With this, he demonstrated by shifting his weight from one foot to the other in time with the beat. Looking around, the group did indeed notice that everyone in the room was doing the same thing, looking like some sort of deranged wheat field blowing in the wind.

"You're right..." Ayame muttered. "It _does_ look like a whole bunch of human metronomes keeping the beat of the music..."

"That's _one_ way of dealing with rap," Kouga spoke up. "But there is another way..."

"And what is that?" his girlfriend asked with a sceptical look.

Inuyasha and Miroku slapped palms to their foreheads. "Oh, no..." Inuyasha muttered to the other boy. "You don't think he's going to...?"

"Oh, I really think he is," Miroku replied with a resigned sigh.

"Wha–?" was all Ayame was able to get out before Kouga dropped to the floor without warning. Looking down in shock, she was even more astonished to see her boyfriend...

"Breakdancing," Inuyasha and Miroku uttered in long suffering tones.

The group could only stare in complete surprise as their friend continued to perform amazing and slightly embarrassing stunts that involved feats of balance and spinning on extremities of his body. They were all transfixed between awe and horror, but they all found different points of the room to focus on when he started in on 'the worm'.

When Kouga finally stood back up, looking suitably impressed with himself, everyone just shook their heads sadly at him. Ayame could only stare at him as if she didn't want to believe her eyes. "You know..." she began shakily. "For the past thirty seconds there...we weren't a couple."

"What?" Kouga gaped and looked around at the rest of his friends as if for support. He wasn't getting any. "Aw, come on, guys! It takes talent and hard work to do that!"

"I can't believe he put time and effort into perfecting 'the worm'..." Inuyasha muttered to Miroku who nodded sadly.

"Hey! It's like a classic move!" Kouga protested. "I mean–!"

"I _really_ wish we didn't have to listen to this music anymore!" Rin cut in, effectively ending the argument. "I can't stand rap!"

Suddenly, the voice of the DJ blared over the sound system. "Alright, you guys having a good time?" He was met with some half-hearted cheers. "Okay, well you guys just enjoy this next song and I'll be right back in a jif!"

The group groaned as another rap song blared across the room. "Excuse me a moment," Sesshoumaru spoke up abruptly. "I have to attend to something."

Before anyone could question the tall man, he had left the group, exiting through the same hallway the DJ had taken. A small "Washrooms" sign was hanging over the entrance.

The next minute or two was passed in relative boredom as the large group of friends tried to come to terms with the miserable situation. All of their relatives still seated at the table looked suitably unimpressed as well. Finally they noticed the DJ returning, though looking considerably shaken up compared to his sure and cocky attitude before his absence. A moment later, Sesshoumaru also returned to their group, looking somewhat satisfied about something.

"O-okay, folks...h-how about a change of pace, huh?" the DJ's hesitant voice sounded out once more. The rap song was abruptly cut short and a salsa number started playing over the speakers. The whole room suddenly seemed to ease up and a few happy whoops rang out.

"Rin, shall we?" Sesshoumaru asked his ice-dance partner calmly, holding out a hand.

Though slightly suspicious about the sudden change in music, she smiled anyway and placed her hand in his. "Gladly!"

As the two of them sashayed off, the rest of the group smiled around happily at each other, except for Inuyasha who felt a bit traumatized after having seen his brother sashay.

He was soon broken out of his reverie, however, when two men in suits came up to the group and beckoned to himself and Kouga. With questioning looks, the two boys stepped forward. "Yes?" Inuyasha asked politely.

"Ah, yes, hello, Inuyasha Dareshi, Kouga Haruko," one of the men greeted them, nodding his head at each in turn. "How are you this evening?"

The boys grinned. "Very well, thanks," Kouga responded for both of them.

"Excellent," the man said, pulling out two business card from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Handing one to each of the boys, he continued, "My associate here and I represent the National Alpine Ski Association of Canada. We were incredibly impressed with your performances in the races today and Wednesday. Your giant slalom run, Mr. Dareshi, was especially impressive in light of the discovery of Mr. Querei's sabotage."

Kouga and Inuyasha were struck dumb. "Um...thank you very much," Inuyasha managed to stutter out as he shook the man's hand.

"I'm sure you are both aware of it, but the two of you are setting incredible records for boys of your age," the man continued. "Looking at the results of your previous races, it has become clear to us that your talent has increased exponentially and this race has proven that it will only continue to do so."

Inuyasha and Kouga nodded in thanks, still too shocked to speak.

The man straightened a little and fixed his tie. "Now, to the point. The Ski Association is currently scouting for eligible racers to join Canada's alpine race team for the next winter Olympics. We were wondering if the two of you would be interesting in obtaining two of the available positions on the team..."

Silence met him. Kouga and Inuyasha were staring at the man, dumbfounded, while all of their friends stared at them, waiting for their answer. When finally the silence stretched a little too long, Ayame decided to break her boyfriend out of his reverie.

"Kouga...Kouga...!" When he didn't answer, she shook his arm a little. He turned and looked down at her a moment before taking her face in his hands and giving her a heated kiss that left her dizzy.

As Ayame stumbled back to her other friends, Kouga turned back to the man as if nothing had happened. "Are you serious?" he asked him in awe and more than a little disbelief.

"Completely," the man responded with a wry smile as he spared a glance for the shocked Ayame.

"Hell yes, we're interested!" Inuyasha burst out suddenly. Suddenly realizing who he'd shouted at, however, he coughed and looked abashed. "Ah, I mean...we're quite interested in your offer...sir."

The man chuckled. "Very well then. We'll be in touch with your coach and your sponsors. A more thorough meeting will be set up for sometime next week to sort out further details. Until we see you then, enjoy yourself and this party." With that, the two men shook the boys' hands once more before disappearing into the crowd.

A full minute passed before anyone uttered a word. "Wow..." Miroku finally breathed.

"Wow is right..." Kouga agreed.

"And just think," Sesshoumaru spoke up, making the others jump as they hadn't noticed his and Rin's return. "If our good friend Naraku hadn't been disqualified, he might have been offered a position on the Olympics team as well. What a terrible pity for him..."

Inuyasha suddenly gave Kouga a wicked grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Kouga raised an eyebrow. "As long as it involves informing Naraku of what his underhandedness has cost him, then yes, definitely."

"Let's go!" Inuyasha said, pumping a fist in the air.

"What–right now?" Kagome asked, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.

"Hey, it's no problem. Kouga and I'll just dash over to Naraku's condo real quick and we'll be back before you know it. Until then, enjoy yourselves!" With a quick kiss to the top of his girlfriend's head, Inuyasha and his partner in crime were gone before she could say another word.

"That guy..." Kagome muttered, shaking her head.

"Well, as we await their glorious return, shall we dance, my dear Sango?" Miroku asked his girlfriend, holding out his right hand.

"As long as you don't strain your arm, I'd love to," she responded, placing her hand in his and following him onto an empty part of the dance floor.

"The past few days have been pretty hectic, haven't they?" Miroku asked quietly as they swayed gently to the music.

Sango hugged him closer, laying her head on his chest. "You can say that again. There was hardly any time to stop and think. I'm glad it's all over now though. No one was seriously hurt in the avalanche, Naraku was justly disqualified, Inuyasha and Kouga did amazing in the races, and they got offered spots on the Olympic race team! It couldn't have turned out better. Unless, of course, none of the bad stuff had happened in the first place..." she frowned.

Miroku rested his head on top of hers and let out a low chuckle. "We were lucky, given the circumstances. And I'm glad we were. Our relationship is just getting started!"

Sango gave him a small nudge. "Trust you to only be thinking of us and our relationship at a time like this..."

"I'm always thinking of you, Sango..." Miroku murmured into her ear.

"...That was incredibly cheesy." she responded flatly.

"It was, wasn't it? I thought you might like it. I've been perfecting my cheese for you."

"Oh, don't try to pull that on me. You had your cheese perfected long before I came along. I don't think anyone's ever had as cheesy or as many pick-up lines as you," Sango said wryly.

"Why, thank you, my dear. I'll take that as a compliment."

"You would..." she muttered. After another minute of silent dancing, she spoke up again. "So now that Inuyasha and Kouga are advancing in their ski racing careers, what are you planning on doing?"

Miroku shrugged. "Well, I'll probably go more of an academic route, to be honest. I may not look it, but I'm a history and math man at heart. In the meantime, though, I think I'll compete in some ski jumping contests. Now that I've broken my arm in addition to that injury I sustained as a kid, I've realized something. I'm probably going to injure myself out here on the ski hill anyway, so I might as well be doing something I really love in the meantime. Don't you think so?"

Sango raised her head from his chest and looked directly into his eyes. "...You're sick," she said bluntly. "That makes no sense at all."

Miroku shrugged and gave her a wry grin. "Ah, well. You love me anyway, right?"

Sango shook her head sadly at him. "You dope..." Nevertheless, she pulled his head down a few inches in order to capture his lips with her own. After a few moments, she pulled away, still shaking her head. "You're going to be the death of me..."

Miroku winked at her. "Ah, but what a welcome death it'll be."

Snuggling her face back into his chest, she mumbled, "Too right..."

Meanwhile, Kagome and Ayame were sipping on some punch when Sesshoumaru and Rin returned from another dance. "Everybody enjoying themselves?" Rin asked cheerfully.

"Definitely," Ayame answered, grinning. "Despite the fact our boyfriends ran off, of course."

Rin shrugged. "Well, sometimes you just gotta let 'em do what they've gotta do. And then–hey, is that what I think it is?"

Three heads swivelled around to see what Rin was looking at. A couple making out in the corner of the ballroom seemed to be the focus of her attention.

"That is hardly anything out of the ordinary, my dear Rin," Sesshoumaru said blandly. "Males and females seem to find it necessary to partake in those sorts of activities anywhere they go. If you had not noticed it beforehand, I'm afraid–"

"No, not that!" Rin said in mock frustration as she lightly slapped his arm. "_Who_ do you see making out there?"

Kagome and Ayame squinted over at the couple. "They _do_ seem familiar somehow," Kagome said slowly. "The woman's obnoxiously orange hair is ringing a bell..."

"Why I do believe that's Cindy!" Sesshoumaru declared. "And with...John?"

"Your stalkers?" Ayame exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah..." Rin said slowly, eyes still transfixed on the image before her. "Who would have thunk it...?"

"Cindy seems...a bit too old for him," Kagome said hesitantly.

"Oh, what's ten or so years when you're...in love?" Ayame said as if unsure herself.

"I'm not sure what to call that..." Rin said.

"Well, on the bright side, maybe they can stalk each other from now on," Ayame offered. "You may never be bothered by them again."

Rin shot the pair another odd look. "Here's hoping..."

The group of four shrugged at each other and turned their attention away from the new couple in order to indulge in some light conversation. Sango and Miroku soon rejoined the group once the music picked up again and five minutes later marked the return of the absent boys.

Inuyasha and Kouga were pushing their way through the masses of bodies, working their way towards the group while holding what looked like pizza boxes over their heads. When they finally rejoined their friends, the others could see that they indeed _were_ pizzas and they all looked quizzically at the boys, waiting for an explanation. For their part, the two boys looked caught between looking indignant and trying to catch their breath from laughing too much.

"What happened?" Sango asked.

Kouga let out a last laugh and then tried to explain. "Well, we went over to Naraku's place like we told you. We stood outside and chucked a few snowballs at his balcony door until he came out. Then we told him what had happened and you should have seen the look on his face!"

"He was soo-oo mad!" Inuyasha cut in. "The next thing we knew, he was chucking these pizzas at us! They must have been from those twenty-some Sesshoumaru had delivered to him two nights ago!"

"Really?" Sesshoumaru inquired, quirking an eyebrow. "How ungrateful of him..."

Kagome shrugged. "Well, I mean given the circumstances, you can kind of underst–"

"If you'll excuse me, I have a call to make," Sesshoumaru cut in as he flipped out a cell phone. As the others watched on in silence, he selected a number from his phone's databank and then held the device up to his ear. "...Yes, hello, Wanda. It's Sesshoumaru. Listen, I need a favour. Could you send one of your male strippers up to Devil's Peak? Condominium A, number 4. ...Yes, it's for revenge again, though that's such a harsh word. You know I prefer to call it someone's _reward_. Yes, that will be all. Splendid. Talk to you again, Wanda." With a click, he snapped the phone shut.

Everyone else just stared at him. "You...did you just do what I think you just did?" Inuyasha sputtered.

"Don't be so vague, brother," Sesshoumaru admonished him. "You'll never get anywhere like that. Rin, shall we dance again?"

Rin shook her head at him in wonder. "I never thought Naraku would deserve the final revenge treatment from you. You must _really_ hate him." When Sesshoumaru stayed silent with his hand outstretched, she sighed. "Okay, okay. Let's dance."

Kagome stared after them. "What a crazy gu–whoa!" Without warning, she was pulled onto the dance floor and swung around. She was faced with a smirking Inuyasha who quickly pulled her close and swayed in time with the music."Well, hello there," she said, getting over her shock.

"Hello, madam," Inuyasha responded. "I thought you might like to dance on an evening so fine as this."

Kagome grinned. "Well, you thought right. And here _I_ thought it might never happen."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Ah, well there were a few things to take care of. But all business is out of the way so now we may enjoy ourselves."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you weren't enjoying yourself when you went to see Naraku?"

Inuyasha let out an guilty chuckle. "Ah, weeeeell..."

Kagome laughed and leaned her head against his chest. "This is a great night, isn't it?"

Inuyasha's hands tightened around her waist. "Yeah..."

"I'm so happy about that Olympics offer!" she continued. "And remember how you didn't think you'd get noticed at all! Look who got totally proved wrong." She poked his chest in emphasis.

Inuyasha took her hand in his and clasped it gently. "Yes, that would be me. But just this once, I don't mind admitting I'm wrong." When Kagome started to open her mouth, he added, "Just this once. It won't happen again. Other than this, I'm always right."

Kagome bent her head back in order to look him in the eye. "We'll just see about that, Mr. Cocky."

"I picked you over any other girl, right?" Inuyasha asked with an insufferable smirk. "I thought you were the best girl around. Are you saying I was wrong about that?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed at him. "Damn you and your arrogant flattery." Inuyasha laughed. "You're a pest, but somehow I like you anyway," she informed him. With that, she reached up and planted a soft kiss on his jaw line.

For the rest of the night, they hardly parted for a moment.

..:V:..

"Damn that Inuyasha and Kouga!" Naraku spat, crushing the empty pop can in his fist as he sat alone in his large condomium. "It should be me on the Olympic team! Some day I'll get them back for this!"

Just then the doorbell rang. Naraku looked up in suspicion from his spot on his couch. "Who could that be? Better not be those two stupid idiots again or I swear I'll kill them..." With an angry grunt, he sprang to his feet and stomped over to the door.

When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of a very built man sporting a police uniform. In one hand he was holding a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and in the other he held a small portable boom box. Naraku looked at him in confusion.

"Is there a problem, officer?"

* * *

A/N And there you have it! A somewhat shorter chapter than I had anticipated, but everything I wanted was added in so there you have it. :P –snickersnort– Poor Naraku...what horrors await him?

One chapter to go, folks! Hold on to your seats! We'll get to the end, I swear! In the meantime, enjoy a funky question – Why do people with closed minds always open their mouths?

And as a special MY BIRTHDAY special specialty, here's a double bonus – What if there were no hypothetical situations? And where would we be without rhetorical questions?


	38. You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Disclaimer: It's the last chapter, after 3 and a half years, and I STILL don't own Inuyasha? Jeez, you'd think that MAYBE, after all this time, someone would throw me a bone... Haha - bone...like a dog...

A/N Are you ready, guys? Holding on tight for this last, supremely amazing chapter? Just to warn you, I've labelled the second half as complete Cotton Candy – ridiculously fluffy, insufferably sweet and utterly tooth-rotting. Just because so many of you requested it. And I really have been slow updating these last chapters... So consider this a sincere apology on my behalf. :) Now...enjoy to your heart's content!

* * *

"Rise and shine, Kagome!" Ayame's voice chirped through the raven haired girl's sleepy haze. "It's our last day to have fun so you better get your butt up and moving!"

Kagome mumbled a few choice phrases to demonstrate what she thought of that idea, but nevertheless started to roll out of bed. Falling on the floor and disentangling herself from her sheets, Kagome stumbled towards her bathroom while rubbing her eyes and yawning.

Once she had showered and dressed, she made her way downstairs where her two friends were happily getting themselves breakfast. The two of them seemed to be floating on air.

"What's made you two so happy?" she grumbled, their apparent cheerfulness offending her so early in the morning.

"What's made you so grumpy?" Ayame countered. "Don't you remember last night at all?"

Kagome paused for a moment to think. Then memories started coming back to her. Memories of Inuyasha winning the slalom, Naraku getting his just desserts, Inuyasha and Kouga being offered a spot on the National alpine ski team, dancing with Inuyasha... hugging Inuyasha... kissing Inuyasha... being carried home by Inuyasha...

"Kagome? Earth to Kagooome?" Sango's voice broke through her reverie.

"Yeeesss?" Kagome responded slowly, a dreamy smile replacing her earlier scowl.

"I think her mood just improved considerably," Sango noted to Ayame, who nodded in return.

"Yes, it really did," Kagome replied cheerfully, grabbing herself a bowl and pouring in some cereal and milk. "I'm suddenly understanding the necessity of getting up so early."

"We thought you might," Sango replied cheekily.

"The boys are going to meet us outside the chalet in twenty minutes," Ayame informed the other two. "I made plans with Kouga before we parted last night. Since we're all going home tomorrow morning, we have to enjoy this day to the fullest and have as much fun as possible!"

"Hear, hear!" Sango cheered, raising her glass of orange juice in the air before taking a gulp of it.

Soon enough, the girls had finished up their breakfast, washed the dishes and were all ready to head out. They suited up and grabbed their skis, heading out the door and towards their last day on the peaks of Devil's Mountain.

They found the boys waiting for them outside the ski lodge looking tired, but also in good spirits. Each of the couples paired up without a word and greeted each other warmly. Inuyasha nodded towards the chalet. "C'mon, Sesshoumaru and Rin are waiting for us inside. We'll grab some chow and then head out on the slopes."

"We've already eaten," Kagome protested.

"Well, then I guess you'll have the delight of watching us eat," Inuyasha said with a shrug.

"Oh, yes," Kagome directed her speech to Ayame. "You and Kouga planned it out so well last night. Sure you didn't get distracted somewhere along the way?"

Ayame shifted uncomfortably and shot her boyfriend a guilty look, but ultimately said nothing.

Sango eyed her boyfriend suspiciously. "You're all dressed up as if you're going skiing, Miroku."

Miroku glanced down at his ski suit and boot clad self. "Why, yes – it does appear that way. You always did have an acute eye, Sango, my dear."

Sango narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't be cute with me. Did your broken arm magically heal overnight or something? Don't tell me you're thinking of skiing with it."

Miroku shrugged. "I guess I won't tell you then," he said as he turned towards the lodge.

"Miroku..." Sango warned dangerously.

He turned back towards her and sighed. "Look, I don't intend on spending my last day of this trip trapped inside the lodge or condominium with nothing to do but twiddle one of my thumbs. And before you think about volunteering to hang out with me, I'm turning you down. I won't let you waste _your_ last day like that either." He gave her a disarming smile. "Besides! I only really need my legs to ski. I can easily get away with skiing without my poles."

Sango looked at him, shocked. "Miroku! You have a broken arm! Don't take that so lightly!"

Miroku held up his one good arm defensively. "Don't worry, Sango! I swear I won't fall on it or anything. I'll be very careful. And besides – it's only for one day. After this, I won't ski again until it's healed, I promise."

Sango didn't look convinced. "Miroku..."

Miroku reached out a hand and pulled her head towards his until their foreheads were touching. Looking into her eyes, he said, "I swear it will be okay... And besides...this _is_ the last day of our trip...this amazing trip where we met. If I wanted to spend just one more day by your side on these slopes where we've shared such amazing experiences...would you really rob me of that?"

Sango closed her eyes and revelled in his closeness. Just as she was about to open her mouth and respond, another voice cut her off.

"Peanut?" Kouga asked the others, holding out a package of nuts.

"Yeah!" Ayame agreed quickly, her hand diving into the bag. "Ooh, the honey roasted kind! My favourite!"

"Nice choice, Kouga," Kagome concurred, grinning as she grabbed a few nuts of her own.

The four bystanders turned back to the couple before them, munching on their peanuts as if they were popcorn. Inuyasha made a shooing motion with his hand. "Carry on," he urged with an expectant look.

Sango gave them all an unimpressed look before turning back to her boyfriend. "Alright, listen you. You may be able to sweet-talk me and they may be able to horribly embarrass me, but don't think I'll forget this. I will allow you to ski with us today, but you better be damn careful, you hear me? If you so much as stumble, we're heading right back inside and twiddling our three thumbs together and I won't put up with any resistance from you on the matter. Got it?"

Miroku gave her a wane smile. "I guess it's the best I could hope for. Now, shall we go?"

The group of six trooped into the lodge after depositing their skis on the rack outside. They quickly located the other two members of their group and made their way towards the table the silver-haired man and the petite girl next to him had already claimed. Sesshoumaru was sipping hot chocolate languidly and Rin was munching on some toast with a smile on her face. When she spotted the rest of the group heading their way, she waved them over eagerly and shifted over to provide them with enough room to sit down. The girls sat down immediately, but the boys instead just dropped their gear on the table before heading for the cafeteria line.

When they returned, Kouga and Miroku held plates of egg and toast whilst Inuyasha came bearing a bowl of soup. Kagome raised an eyebrow at his breakfast choice but he quickly quelled her incredulity with a reminder of her choosing a burger over poutine at the beginning of her trip. She clammed up after that, acknowledging her intense error in judgement.

Inuyasha wasn't quite prepared to let it go at that, however. "And if you _hadn't_ chosen that horrid burger, you would never have gotten food poisoning and almost gotten killed by that groomer."

Kagome blew out a breath that ruffled her bangs. "Don't you think I know that already? And besides, if I _hadn't_ gotten food poisoning and almost died, _we_ would never have met. In fact, us girls wouldn't have met _any_ of you guys. So maybe instead of admonishing me, you should be thanking me instead!" she declared proudly, certain of her winning the argument.

The others sat mulling that over for a minute. Then Inuyasha looked at her and said frankly, "You know, you were still an idiot."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest in indignation, but caught sight of all of her other friends nodding sadly in agreement. In a huff, Kagome crossed her arms and pouted. "Some friends and boyfriend I have..." she mumbled in mock disgust. There was a moment of silence in which no one spoke. Kagome chanced a glance at Inuyasha out of the corner of one eye.

He yawned and gave her flat look. "You know, I'm not about to follow that statement up with something as cheesy as saying you're 'my idiot' or something so you can just stop pouting and save yourself some time."

Kagome sighed and dropped her arms. "It was worth a try."

At this, Inuyasha blinked. "What, you actually _would have_ wanted me to say something cheesy like that?"

Kagome sniffed primly. "Well, it didn't need to be _cheesy_ per se, but _something_ to show you actually cared would have been welcome."

Inuyasha gave her a grin with implications she didn't particularly care to discover. "If I were to show you how much I 'cared', I don't think our present company would appreciate it much." As Kagome blushed deep red and the others at the table shared distinctly uncomfortable looks, Inuyasha leaned back and examined some dirt under his fingernails. "After all," he continued, "cleaning up after another pancake batter fight isn't high on their list of things to do, I imagine."

It took a moment to register, but when Kagome realized what he had said, she glared at him before punching his arm. "You jerk!"

"Ah yes," he said, leaning in close. "But I'm _your_ jerk."

Kagome sighed in resignation, laughing as he and the rest of the table snickered. "You're ridiculous. This is going to be one strange relationship."

Inuyasha smirked at her before taking a sip of soup. "Got anyone else you'd rather be with?"

Kagome looked thoughtfully at him for a moment before turning to the man at the end of the table. "Sesshoumaru," she said seriously.

Inuyasha choked on his soup. "What?"

"Hm?" Sesshoumaru inquired, rising briefly from his coma-like state.

"Can you please pass the sugar? This bozo next to me needs sweetening up," Kagome continued pleasantly.

"I'm afraid it is a hopeless case," Sesshoumaru replied blandly as Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at his girlfriend who smiled smugly back at him.

The moment was shattered abruptly as a rhinestone studded pink thong was slapped indignantly down upon the table. A dark presence raged behind them and they did not have to wait long before the new arrival spoke up. "_Looking for this?_" Naraku spat in barely controlled rage.

Sesshoumaru eyed the "garment" with disinterest. "Not particularly. Tell me, is it from your private collection?"

Naraku sputtered a few moments before finally grating out, "Your _friend_ left this at my condo last night!"

Sesshoumaru glanced around the table at the others. "Do any of you have friends with pink rhinestone studded thongs that would be accustomed to showing up at Naraku's place late at night?" At all of their pasted-on innocent looks and vapid denials, Sesshoumaru turned back to the seething skier. "There you see – we are all devoid of such a friend as you speak of."

Naraku glared and pointed a shaking finger at the placid silver-haired man. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You all do! You're all in on it! I know it was you!"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the increasingly more agitated racer. He then took another sip of his hot chocolate before setting it down on the table and running a finger along its rim. Slowly and deliberately, he glanced up at Naraku and fixed him with a steady gaze. "I do believe you have the right to remain silent..." he said calmly, but chalk full of double meaning.

Naraku's face invented a new shade of red before he spat in disgust on their table and stormed out of the lodge.

There was a moment of silence shared between the group before Inuyasha looked down at his meal. "Ewww...I think he got some spit in my soup."

"I hope you got your fill of it before he came then," Ayame said. "I can't imagine you trying to eat it now that it's infested with Naraku cooties."

"Nope. It's definitely done for," Inuyasha declared. With that, he pushed the soup to centre of the table, beside the thong, and left it in peace. "I think I've lost my appetite anyway."

"Good riddens to bad rubbish, I say," Sango spoke up. "And by that, I mean Naraku, not your soup."

Inuyasha nodded sadly. "It was the noblest of soups."

"Upheld its dreams and values until the end," Miroku added with respect. "The only mistake it ever made in life was being within range of Naraku's projectile saliva. Due to these unfortunate circumstances, its beautiful life was cut short, but its noble sacrifice will not be forgotten by anyone here today. And now, if you please, a moment of silence."

Each member of the table bowed their head in a moment of deepest reverence.

At a nearby table, Kageromaru leaned over to his brother Juromaru. "Are they praying to a pink thong?" he whispered with a baffled expression. His brother, who had no answer, just shrugged.

After the moment of respect had passed, the other boys continued to eat their breakfasts.

"Seriously though," Sango tried to continue her previous thought. "We've been plagued by Naraku for so long it's so refreshing to know he's finally gotten his comeuppance."

Kouga nodded beside her. "It's true. I remember how he tried to show us up in ski jumping when we first came across him on this trip. Frikkin' loser. Inuyasha may have shown him up, but if Miroku had known he was competing against him, he could have shown him a thing or two more."

"Quite right," Miroku nodded with confidence. "If I had been trying, he wouldn't have been nearly so smug."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Sure, sure. As it was, it was left up to me, and I thought I did a fine damn job."

"Clearly not good enough," Sango shot back. "It may have staved him off for awhile, but remember that the next time we saw him, he was sporting the most indecent piece of 'clothing' known to man."

All except Sesshoumaru and Rin, who had not witnessed the event, took a moment to collectively shudder.

"No one could have predicted _that_," Kagome pointed out.

"Or the tabloid scandal," Ayame cut in. "Remember that? Even Miroku and Sango got press time with that 'adventure'."

Sango groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Now, now, Sango dear," Miroku said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's not too bad now, is it? At the time we weren't an official couple, but now..." He left it hanging.

Sango gave him a flat look. "Miroku, I don't appreciate people prying into my personal life at any time, whether what they're saying is true or not. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. ...But I'll admit that the idea of being in a relationship with you isn't as repulsive to me now as it was then."

Miroku placed a dramatic hand to his heart. "Repulsive? Sango, you do wound me so!"

"It was your 'player' personality that angered me, to be honest," his girlfriend elaborated. "When you act like a normal human being, you're more than likeable." To demonstrate, she gave him a smile and quick kiss on the cheek.

Miroku looked like he might want to protest further, but he sighed in resignation against her most winsome expression. "Sometimes I wish you weren't so hard to resist. I'd probably let you get away with my murder if you were sporting that expression at the time."

"Well, to be honest, Miroku," Kouga spoke up. "If she were easier to resist for you, she probably would have just gotten washed away in all the other girls you chase after–"

"Used to chase after," Sango coughed meaningfully.

"–and also," the dark haired racer continued, "I'm pretty convinced that if Sango set her mind to it, she could kill you whether or not you approved."

"Thanks for that, Kouga," Miroku said dryly.

"No problem, man. That's what I'm here for."

"As much _fun_ as I'm having," Sesshoumaru cut in, "I have finished my beverage and thus will now partake in some skiing."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Kagome said enthusiastically. Kouga and Miroku shoved the last of their breakfasts into their mouths and the rest of the group started to gather up their gear from the table before heading outside. Stepping into their skis and grabbing their poles, the group headed towards the chairlift. They rode it halfway up the mountain, and then took yet another one to reach the top. They all looked around for a moment, drinking in the atmosphere and enjoying the incredible view.

"I'm gonna miss this place," Kagome said sadly. "This has been one hell of a vacation."

"You know," Inuyasha mused aloud, "I think I'll only miss _most_ of this place. I don't think I'll ever again feel too fondly for the trail that dumped an avalanche on our heads."

Kagome conceded that point.

"Well, the trip ain't over yet!" Sango declared. "Let's get in what skiing we can and make this last day a blast!" With that, she launched herself down the nearest hill, only catching sight of the rating after it was too late. "Wait–what?" she screeched. "Black diamond? Nooo!"

Kagome sniffed and wiped a fake tear from her eye. "Ah, memories. It seems like just yesterday Sango was pushing me down a black diamond hill as a warm up run. I find the reversal quite enjoyable."

"Great. I picked a sadist for a girlfriend," Inuyasha sighed as he looked to the sky as if in search of divine help.

"Look who's talking, Mr. Tortures His Friends Mercilessly Just For Witnessing A Romantic Exchange," Kouga mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" Inuyasha asked sharply with danger in his tone.

"Oh, nothing!" Kouga singsonged. "Well, if no one else is going to help the poor damsel in distress, I suppose I'll take it upon myself!" Before anyone else could say anything, he had launched himself down the hill after Sango.

"Hey! That's my girlfriend you're rescuing!" Miroku protested as he hastily followed suit.

"Hey! That's _his_ girlfriend you're rescuing!" Ayame piped up as well, giving chase.

The remaining four glanced around at each other. "Well, as fun as that looks, I'm going to find a blue square," Kagome said wryly, turning her back on the scenario and heading for a less daunting hill. For lack of anything better to do, the other three followed after her.

"So much for Miroku being careful," Inuyasha added as an afterthought.

For the rest of the morning, the group of eight skied constantly, sometimes taking the same slope and sometimes splitting up into smaller groups to take on different hills. They always met up again at the bottom and headed up once more on the chairlift together. They raced each other down hills, held mini jumping competitions and generally goofed off all around.

They stopped in at the lodge around noon, thoroughly winded and looking for some food. After they had replenished themselves with a last meal of poutine and hot chocolate, they headed out once more, determined to make the most of their last day on the slopes.

It wasn't until the mid-afternoon that they realized they still had some unfinished business that needed to be taken care of. The group was all together and skiing down a certain hill one after the other when they spotted a familiar mass of people blocking the run in front of them.

"Oh no," Kagome muttered to herself as she realized the boys were making no effort to go around the group. "Don't do it, Inuyasha, don't do it..."

Despite Kagome's wishes, the three boys snowed the group of smoking snowboarders one after another so that they were nearly buried up to their elbows by the end. Enraged, their old nemeses turned and glared at them. "You guys again!"

"Miss us?" Inuyasha answered cheekily. "You clearly didn't heed what we said last time because here you are polluting the hill again! I at least hope we managed to put out your cigarettes with our entrance."

Beside Kagome, Sesshoumaru sighed. "Looks like my brother has been at it again. Ah, well, I suppose there's no help for it. You'd best get your head start now while my foolish brother is still riling them up," he addressed her.

"What about you?"

Sesshoumaru turned to give her a piercing stare. "I, Sesshoumaru, flee from no one."

When he offered nothing else, Kagome nodded slowly and began pushing off. "Ookay...guess we'll see you somewhere at the bottom then..."

Soon the rest of the skiing group was joining Kagome in a collective bombing of the hill as the snowboarders scrambled to tighten their straps and give chase. The skiers had much more momentum than the snowboarders and so reached the bottom far ahead of them.

"Quick, make for the chairlifts!" Miroku declared, pointing. As most of the group started forward, however, Ayame stood her place. Looking back, Miroku assumed a frantic expression. "Uh, Ayame? Now's not exactly the time to catch your breath. We've got running to do!"

"No!" Ayame exclaimed, placing her fists abruptly on her hips.

Kouga's face faulted. "Say what?"

"I said no!" the redhead repeated adamantly. "I refuse to run when you anger them like that. Either don't bug them at all or stand tall and actually pick a fight! I won't cower any longer. If you won't take them on, I'll do it alone!"

Everyone just stared at her agape for a minute. When no one answered her, she glared at them all. "What?" she demanded.

The boys seemed at a loss for words, but Kagome and Sango stepped forward, grinning. "We agree with Ayame!" Sango said. "We're tired of running from _your_ battles so we'll fight them for you if that's what it takes!"

Inuyasha finally seemed to find his voice. "Uh, no, that won't be necessary. We'll, uh, we'll stand and fight too."

"Good!" Ayame barked. "Then I suggest we settle this with cunning and infallible battle tactics. It's time for the deadliest of fights, ladies and gentlemen. Weak hearts and shaky wits have no place here! It's time–"

"–for a snowball fight!" the three girls shouted in unison, pumping their fists in the air.

"Follow me, men!" Ayame shouted out as if she were an army commander. "Leave your skis and poles at the ski rack and take to the trees. Quickly, they're nearly upon us!"

The other five jumped to attention and scrambled to follow her orders. On their way to the racks, Kouga muttered proudly to the other two boys, "That's _my _girlfriend, you know."

"Yeah, we know," Inuyasha answered. "She'll probably have you whipped within the week."

Kouga stopped dead in his tracks. "She will not!" he protested loudly. The other two just snickered in response.

"Kouga! There's no time for lolly gagging!" Ayame barked harshly. "Either start moving yer lazy arse or run away with your tail between your legs! Pick one or the other, but do it within three seconds or else have your boyfriend privileges revoked!"

Kouga gaped at her before reluctantly starting to move towards the racks again. "She will _not_ have me whipped," he muttered to himself, more to make himself feel better rather than out of any real conviction.

No sooner had the group made it to the safety of the trees and started constructing ammunition than the snowboarders charged in after them, having already deposited their boards on the ski racks.

From this point on, a snowball fight the likes of which the ski resort had never witnessed before took place. Ayame had Inuyasha, Kagome and Miroku erecting a snow wall to serve as a barricade while the Sango and Kouga feverishly worked at packing snowballs together. Ayame herself launched them over the wall to pelt the snowboarders who were working to erect their own barricade and launch a counterattack.

Sesshoumaru and Rin wandered upon the scene eventually, having finally decided to ski the rest of the way down the hill and join the others. Upon seeing what was happening, Rin squealed in delight and immediately partook in the fight. As for Sesshoumaru, he decided to stand behind a tree and begin idly shaping the perfect snowball.

Once the barriers were firmly built, the two groups were more able to concentrate on the actual fight. Snowballs flew back and forth, pelting both of the groups with a vengeance. There were no rules and so no way to tell who was winning. As a result, the fight continued for an hour or more with no obvious signs of slowing down.

Somewhere in the middle, Sesshoumaru set his snowball down and wandered off to the lodge without an apparent care in the world. About five minutes later, he returned, bearing two hot chocolates. Sipping on one, he walked up to rest of the group, dodging snowballs with ease on his way. Without a word, he passed the other hot chocolate onto Rin who accepted it with a grateful smile.

Inuyasha gaped at the exchange. "You didn't get any hot chocolate for the rest of us? You prick!"

"Brother, when you grow boobs and learn to ice dance, then we'll talk about hot chocolate," the older brother replied blandly before sauntering back to his tree and snowball.

The entire group gaped after him, never having heard Sesshoumaru refer to female anatomy so bluntly before. Or rather, female anatomy at all. Rin, on the other hand, sipped her hot chocolate calmly and watched as the others were pelted by the snowboarders' snowballs in their moment of distraction. It was as if she hadn't heard the exchange at all; or if she had, it didn't disturb her in the least. After all, _she_ had the hot chocolate.

And so the snow war continued once more without cessation. The two sides launched countless snowballs across the gap between them, and Sesshoumaru calmly perfected his one snowball off to the side, sipping his hot chocolate intermittently.

Finally, however, there was dissension amongst the snowboarder group. A female voice carried across the small patch of woods where the battle was taking place. "Hiten...when is this going to end? I'm tired and cold..."

"In a minute," the boy muttered irritably.

"I'm tired too," the other girl of the group whined. "Aren't your macho games over yet? I want to go inside...!"

"Just give us a few more minutes!" Hiten snapped.

The girls quieted down momentarily and the warfare continued. After about ten more minutes, however, the girls had had enough. "Alright, that's it!" the exotic girl exclaimed, standing up. "We declare a truce! We wanna quit and go inside."

The snowballs abruptly stopped flying. The skiing group eyed the male members of the snowboarding group warily. "You okay with that?" Kouga asked them cautiously.

Hiten looked like he wanted to argue for a moment before twisting his expression into one of disgust and throwing his snowball down to the ground. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered in annoyance. "We'll call a truce."

Inuyasha grinned. "Good fight then. See ya around!"

"Yeah, whatever." With that, the group of snowboarders turned to leave. Just as they were exiting the grove, Sesshoumaru finally made a move. His snowball, through his fiddling and shaping, was now perfectly spherical and as hard as ice. With a negligent toss, he threw it in the air over the snowboarders' heads and directly into the branches above them. With the impact, a great load of snow was dislodged and fell heavily down upon the unsuspecting snowboarders.

With indignant sputters, they spun around once they had recovered from the shock. All of the skiers were staring wide-eyed at Sesshoumaru, who deflected their attention to another person who was passing by within a few feet of him. With a startled realization, the group of skiers recognized him as Naraku, stomping angrily across the grounds. With a gesture and an appalled look from Sesshoumaru in Naraku's direction, the snowboarders took it to mean the stranger was their culprit.

"Hey you!" one of the boys yelled loudly. Naraku spun around with a glare only to find a group of very angry snowboarders bearing down upon him. Spotting Sesshoumaru gazing calmly at him from behind the oncoming mob, Naraku let out a choked wail before turning and fleeing. The snowboarders were hot in pursuit.

"Geez..." Kagome said quietly in the silence. "I think you may have made him cry, Sesshoumaru."

"Then my work here is done," Sesshoumaru commented simply, taking the initiative to head back for the lodge.

"Man, what a creepy guy," Kouga muttered, picking some snow up from the ground and packing himself a new projectile. "Too bad about the fight, though. I was really getting into it. Ah, well..." He tossed his snowball backwards without a glance.

A soft impact and startled gasp made him stop in his tracks. Turning around, he saw Ayame directly behind him, her face covered in snow as she stared at him in shock. Before he could say anything, her lip quivered and she buried her face in her hands as she crouched down to the ground.

Kouga paled at her reaction. "Uh, Ayame? I'm really sorry – I didn't mean it. I didn't know you were there! Ayame?" When her shoulders shook but she didn't say anything, Kouga panicked and hastily sunk to the ground next to her. Putting an arm around her shoulders, he frantically called her name again.

This time, she slowly turned her head to look at him. He got one glance of a completely dry eye with a mischievous glint to it before his face was suddenly smothered with snow. Spluttering and falling back on his rear, Kouga wiped his face clean only to see Ayame standing above him and laughing her head off.

"You wanted the fight to continue?" she taunted with a mocking grin. "Well, come on then, pretty boy – I'll be your opponent."

A grin crept over Kouga's face. "Oh, really? Well, be prepared to be in a world of hurt then!"

She stuck out her tongue at him and he flung a new snowball at her. She dodged it easily, but it then ended up smacking Kagome in the back of the head. She broke off her conversation with Inuyasha to spin around angrily and identify the culprit. Spotting Kouga, she grinned evilly. "You're dead, wolf-boy!" she threatened as she picked up her own snowball from the ground and threw it at him.

Soon enough, the entire group was included in the new snow battle. Everyone except Sesshoumaru, of course, who stood idly off to the side. Occasionally Inuyasha would be hit by a rogue snowball that he swore couldn't have been thrown by anyone except his irritating brother. But whenever he spun around to face the older man, Sesshoumaru seemed to be in another universe completely and have no involvement in the fight whatsoever.

Unlike the previous fight, this one was held right out in the open. There were no barricades, nor any definable teams. Every one of the participants chucked snowballs at anyone else who looked like they had their guard down. Snowballs pelted each of them left, right and centre and everyone was having difficulty catching their breath from laughing so much.

When Inuyasha finally got fed up with the rogue snowballs with mysterious origins, he started launching a few of his own snowballs in Sesshoumaru's direction. Unfortunately the older sibling dodged them all with seemingly no effort at all and Inuyasha grew even more frustrated. No one else, however, was brave or stupid enough to try to take on Sesshoumaru and so left Inuyasha to his futile devises.

The fight ended in a way none of them could have expected.

Rin suddenly broke off her attack against Sango and ran straight towards the supposed non-combatant. "Sesshoumaru!" she called to him happily.

The tall, proud silver-haired ice dancer turned just in time to have his partner's small body collide with his. Before another moment passed, her arms were around his neck and her lips were pressing firmly against his.

Everyone dropped their snowballs in shock and even Sesshoumaru himself seemed to have gone rigid with surprise. The moment was soon broke, however, by Rin's true intentions. In the midst of the kiss and Sesshoumaru's momentary paralysis, she took the opportunity to stuff a large handful of snow down the back of his shirt.

Rin broke away laughing as Sesshoumaru's back straightened in response to the cold snow. Jabbing a thumb in the direction of her ice dance partner, she addressed the rest of the group, "_That_'s how you take on Sesshoumaru in a snowball fight."

"Somehow I don't think the rest of us could get away with it so smoothly..." Miroku muttered under his breath.

"I guess...we'll just...go in now..." Inuyasha said hesitantly, noticing that Sesshoumaru's face had gone completely blank and he was unsure what his brother would do if they stayed out any longer.

And so, without another word, the group headed to the ski racks to pick up their discarded equipment and then onwards to the condominiums.

..:V:..

"There are _no_ shirts available." Even though spoken as a statement, it was clear at this time that Sesshoumaru's phrase was instead a deadly question.

Rin shrugged carelessly. "Sorry, Fluffy. You heard the boys. Their stuff is all packed up and in their cars. And as you can see, we are now in the girls' condo."

"I could always lend you this pink tank top I have. It's very cu–" Kagome caught sight of Sesshoumaru's piercing stare. She stuck out a foot and smoothly stepped behind her boyfriend. "Please don't eat me," she said meekly.

Sesshoumaru sat cross-legged on the living room floor, his arms crossed over his bare chest. His soaked shirt was hanging over the back of an unused chair in a meagre effort to dry out. There was a distinct aura of "displeased" about the silver-haired man.

Rin, always oblivious or outright ignoring his moods, continued on as if normal. "Guess you'll just have to stick it out until we get back to our hotel. Don't worry, you have a nice chest."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "I hate it when you do things like this, Rin."

"She does things like this...often?" Inuyasha hesitantly asked.

Rin's only response was to grin cheekily at him.

Kagome took this opportunity to make good her retreat. "Well, I've got a bunch of packing to do so...I'll just head upstairs..."

"Anything I can help with?" Inuyasha asked promptly. A little too promptly to be sincere, but Kagome understood his need to get out of the room.

"I _suppose_ I could find a use for you," she answered flippantly, leading the way up the stairs.

"Cards anyone?" Rin asked the others eagerly as she flipped out a deck from her jacket pocket. Kagome and Inuyasha heard the group acquiesce as they headed out of earshot.

As Kagome entered her room, she put her hands on her hips, critically analysing what needed to be done. She heard the door shut gently behind her as she hauled her empty suitcase up upon the bed and opened it. Before she could get any farther, however, two strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind and pulled her close to a warm body.

"Hi," Inuyasha said softly in her ear.

"Hi yourself," Kagome replied, crossing her arms over his and interlacing their fingers.

Inuyasha closed his eyes and pressed his cheek to hers. Breathing in deeply, he said, "I like your hair..."

Kagome broke their contact and arched her head back to look him in the eye. "Are you kidding me?" she demanded. "It's been squashed under a hat all day and probably got all sweaty during that snowball fight. You can't possibly find that attractive."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Still...I can smell your shampoo. I like it."

Kagome vowed never to change shampoos again.

Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Inuyasha pressed a kiss to her open neck and hugged her closer when she shivered in surprise. "...I want to be with you for a long time," he stated frankly, holding her as if he'd never let go.

Kagome laughed and stroked his arm reassuringly. "We've only known each other for two weeks... But...I feel the same way. I feel optimistic about our future, whatever it may bring." She once again arched her head back, and this time Inuyasha leaned forward as well, their lips meeting in a loving kiss.

When they finally broke away with clouded eyes, Kagome leaned back into Inuyasha's embrace and sighed. "You know...I really do have to pack..."

Inuyasha gave one more kiss to her temple before stepping away. "Best get it over with then, I guess," he said. "Here, I'll get the stuff in the drawers for you."

Kagome was about to say something, but instead hid a smile and watched his progress across the room. He opened the top drawer of the dresser and his eyes bulged. Snapping it shut with a click, he turned back around with an ill expression on his face. "Perhaps it'd be better to leave the underwear drawer to you..."

Kagome laughed.

..:V:..

"Full House, boys and girls," Rin said smugly, laying her hand out on the table for all to see. "Read 'em and weep."

"You're a poker fiend, Rin," Miroku conceded with a sickly smile.

"Yeah..." Kouga said. "My appreciation for the game is waning..."

"I'm afraid I'm going to bow out of the next hand," Miroku told the group, rubbing his casted arm absently. "I find myself rather thirsty. Just carry on without me." He got up and shuffled his way to the kitchen, looking a little pale in the face.

Sango watched him go with narrowed eyes. Addressing the other four, she said, "You know, I'm going to excuse myself too..."

"Something wrong with him?" Ayame asked, looking worriedly in the direction Miroku had gone and then back at Sango.

Sango had a hard expression on her face. "I'll find out..."

As she scampered off towards the kitchen, Kouga spoke up. "Well, maybe it's time for a change of game then. Euchre anyone?" The other three nodded in agreement and Ayame dealt the cards anew.

In the kitchen, Miroku was awkwardly trying to move around and get himself a drink. He had gotten a glass out of the cupboard and was trying to pour himself some water out of the jug. Unfortunately, his hand was shaking and he couldn't keep it steady.

"Come on, Miroku," he muttered to himself darkly. "You are just pouring a glass of water. This isn't exactly the Olympics. But it _is_ pretty pathetic..." With a frustrated jerk, he straightened himself up straight. Unfortunately, in doing so, he banged his left arm against the counter. Hissing in pain, he doubled over and would have dropped the jug of water entirely had another hand not shot out to catch it.

Setting the jug down on the counter, Sango put her hands to Miroku's shoulders. "What's wrong, Miroku?" she demanded.

He straightened slightly and gave her a wane smile. "I'm afraid my arm's giving me a bit of trouble. It's aching mostly...I suspect it'll go away after awhile, but banging it against the counter probably didn't help it."

Sango looked worriedly into his face. "That's not all," she said, putting a hand to his forehead. "You're all clammy and look nearly green. I knew it! You're still not fully recovered from the avalanche. You should never have come skiing with us today!"

Miroku reached out and cupped her cheek with his palm. Rubbing his thumb over her smooth skin, he said, "I don't regret it though. And besides, it's not that bad. I'm just having a bout of pain. It very possibly would have come over me whether or not I went skiing, though the cold air and physical exertion probably _did_ aggravate it more. Don't worry, Sango. It'll pass and then I'll be fine."

Sango gave him a doubtful look. "Still..." She glanced back at the abandoned glass and jug of water. A thought occurred to her. "I think I have some Advil in the bathroom," she said, turning and pouring him the glass of water he sought. "Take this and follow me."

The two traipsed past the living room where the heated game of Euchre was going on. The group hardly noted the pair's passing and they arrived at the bathroom without incident.

As an argument broke out in the living room, Sango closed the bathroom door to shut the noise out. Then she turned to the medicine cabinet and fished out the medicine she sought.

"Here you go," she told her boyfriend, holding out two tablets. He took them gratefully and swallowed them quickly with help from the water. Meanwhile, Sango retrieved a clean facecloth and soaked it thoroughly in the sink. Wringing it out, she started dabbing at Miroku's forehead, sweeping his bangs out of the way with her other hand. He closed his eyes and sighed under her ministrations.

"You big idiot..." she muttered without malice. "I can't believe you did this to yourself..."

"It's not like I meant to," he protested, opening his eyes and adopting a slightly pained expression.

"The initial injury may not have been your fault, but you were the you who decided to go skiing today!" she snapped. "And I...I let you..." she finished in a meek voice. The cloth suddenly left his forehead as she spun around, not wanting him to see her face.

Miroku gave her a startled look before recovering his wits. He reached out and took her by the shoulders, turning her around to face him once more. She avoided his gaze and so he drew her to him, hugging her as tight as he could with his one good arm.

"Please don't blame yourself for any of this," he pleaded. "I _was_ an idiot to ski today. But it's also true that I don't regret spending my last day like that with you. Just like what I told you this morning, right?"

He felt her nod against his shoulder, and then heard a slight sniffle. Raising his arms, he grasped her shoulders once more and pushed her slightly back. Peering into her face, he noticed she was trying to smile for him, but instead looked miserable and there were tears brimming in her eyes. "Sango..."

She sniffed again and gave her smile another go. "I'm sorry...maybe it's some shock effect from all the events in these past few days. I'm kind of overreacting, I know..."

Miroku smiled gently down at her. "Don't be sorry..." Caressing her cheek with his right hand, he leaned down and kissed the shimmering tear from her eye. "I'll do my best to never worry you again," he whispered softly.

Sango let out a choked laugh. "Somehow I don't think you'll succeed... It's too easy to worry about someone you care so much about."

In response, Miroku trailed light kisses down her cheek until he reached the corner of her mouth. Tilting her head, he captured her lips with his own in a kiss that said all that he could not.

The kiss ended gently, their lips only parting an inch. After a moment of silence, Sango spoke once more. "How is your arm...?"

"What arm?" Miroku murmured, his eyes still closed as he held her close.

Sango's eyebrow went up a notch. "The broken one?"

Miroku opened his eyes and grinned at her. "Oh. That one. The pain's completely gone now." At her sceptical look, he continued, "It's true! You must have a magic touch or something..."

Sango pulled back a little and eyed him critically. "I'm still not satisfied," she told him bluntly. "I think you should lie down and get some rest. Besides..." She bit her lip.

Miroku eyed her worriedly. "What is it?"

Sango's teeth slipped from her lip and it jutted out in a pout. "We just shared our most romantic kiss...in a bathroom."

Miroku let out an embarrassed laugh as he scratched the back of his head and looked around guiltily. "I guess a change of venue _would_ be rather welcome..."

As Sango wet and wrung out the facecloth once more, Miroku opened the door and headed out into the hall. As the two of them made their way towards Sango's room, Miroku asked jokingly, "So you didn't think our kisses in front of that grungy diner on our horrible first date were that romantic?"

Sango smiled up at him as she linked her arm through his good one. "Oh, they were definitely special," she told him. "But that was amazing. I may let you get away with _my_ murder if you keep kissing me like that."

"I'll keep that in mind," he replied wryly as they entered her room.

"Alright," she said, instantly serious. "Now to bed with you. You must sleep and get better or else I'm a horrible girlfriend."

Miroku pulled back the covers and sat down on the bed. "I thought I already told you you weren't," he protested.

"Ah, but if you don't go to sleep now, I'll still _think_ I am, whether it's true or not," she countered as she gently pushed him down and tucked him in. "So really, you have no other option than this."

Miroku sighed and closed his eyes. "Okay, okay...but only if you stay by my side."

"I'll be right here," she assured him as she fished a book out of her luggage and took a seat on the floor next to the bed. "Within an arm's reach."

"Good..." Miroku muttered as he burrowed deeper into the bed. "'Night, Sango..."

"Good night, Miroku..." Sango smiled as she flipped open her book.

..:V:..

"This is impossible!" Kouga sighed in defeat, slapping his cards down upon the table. "Ayame and I can never win!"

Sesshoumaru blinked and set his cards down as well. "Of course not. Rin cheats."

Kouga and Ayame stared at him aghast. "Wha...?" Kouga managed to utter.

Sesshoumaru gave a slight nod. "She's ruthless. You should quit while you still have all your clothes on."

The shocked pair turned to look at the brown-haired petite girl for some sort of denial. All they got was an impish grin. Sharing an uneasy look with Ayame, Kouga stood up. "You know, I think we might go for a walk...clear our heads and all that..." Ayame nodded in agreement, standing up as well.

"If you leave me alone with her, she have me naked within fifteen minutes," Sesshoumaru said quickly.

They fled.

As the door slammed shut, Rin turned to her ice dance partner, ruffling the deck of cards in her hand. "So...strip poker?" she suggested mildly.

Sesshoumaru sent her a plaintive look. "Rin...you cheat. And besides..." He gestured to his naked torso. "I'm already halfway there." Under Rin's unwavering gaze, he tried a new tactic. "You know, if we're going to play, you should at least take off your own shirt to make things even."

Rin shrugged in agreement and slipped out of her sweater. She was wearing a long–sleeved shirt underneath. "Now," she said brightly, snapping the cards. "Let's begin..."

..:V:..

"Kouga, where are we going?" Ayame asked curiously as her boyfriend led her by the hand.

"I've got an idea," he answered, giving her a wolfish grin. "Just trust me."

When they arrived at the chairlift, up and running for night skiing, Ayame started to understand what he was thinking. After a few words with the attendant to get permission, Kouga turned back to her and gestured towards the oncoming chair. Without a second thought, she boarded it with him beside her.

The slow ascent up the mountain seemed different than usual. Even though she had been out night skiing before, the sensation of riding up the chairlift this time was completely new to her. Instead of chunky ski boots and clipped on skis, her feet were clad in normal snow boots and her hands were freed from poles. This way of riding up the hill seemed almost akin to a Ferris wheel. She gazed up at the starry sky in bliss.

"I applaud you on your idea," she told Kouga who was similarly looking up to the sky beside her.

At the sound of her voice, he shifted closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "Why, thank you," he said with a slight bow of his head. "And now, if I may, I wish to direct your attention to the constellations above us." He pointed a finger up to the sky.

Ayame leaned her head on his shoulder. "You can read constellations?" she asked with curiosity.

Kouga shrugged his free shoulder. "Who can't? All you have to do is pick a cluster of stars and connect the dots in any way you see fit. See look, there's a wolf."

Ayame looked up at the landscape of random dots. "You know I have no idea where you're looking, right?"

"Of course. That's why you draw out your own and then pretend you understand exactly what I'm talking about," Kouga told her matter-of-fact.

"Ah, I get it now," Ayame said in realisation. "In fact, there's the wolf right there...it looks like it's chasing something..."

"A mangy dog," Kouga filled in, a feral grin playing about his mouth.

Ayame rolled her eyes. "Clearly," she said sarcastically. "But–oh! There's the reason for it. Looks like the wolf's girlfriend decided to run off with the dog because he was too mean–spirited for her. Tsk, tsk."

Kouga gaped down at her. "You wouldn't do that! Right? You wouldn't do that?"

Ayame just laughed. "Whatever gave you the idea I was talking about the two of us?" she said in an impish tone.

Kouga remained suspicious. After a minute of him scrutinizing her as she looked up at the stars, he pressed once more, "Still...you wouldn't do that, right?"

Ayame sat up straight and turned to him, a humourous expression on her face. "You're adorable when you're insecure, you know that?"

In the dark it was hard to discern, but a red tinge definitely spread over Kouga's cheeks. "A-adorable? Insecure?" he seemed uncertain of which issue to address first.

"Yes. Adorable," Ayame replied simply in a way that brooked no argument. "And no, I will never leave you to run off with Inuyasha."

"Are you sure?" Kouga let the adorable comment slide to focus on the more urgent matter.

Ayame smiled at him again as they prepared to unload from the chairlift. "Yes, positive." When they were on secure ground and out of view of the attendant at the top, she pulled him aside. Grasping either side of his face, she stood on her tiptoes in order to plant a scintillating kiss upon his lips. He ended up gripping her shoulders to brace himself and when she broke away, he followed and hungrily claimed her lips once more. He sought out the sweet spiciness of her soft mouth, nearly getting drunk off the blissful sensation.

Ayame giggled softly at his eagerness, but renewed her efforts to gain control of the kiss. Unfortunately, Kouga seemed to be dominating the whole affair, leaning in further and deepening the kiss.

When he finally regained control of himself and pulled back, both of them were breathing hard and Ayame was more than a little mussed.

"Well!" Ayame said, taking deep breaths of air as she raised a gloved finger. "I think I was originally going to make some sort of point with that kiss...like proving I wouldn't run off with anyone else or something... But I think it got lost somewhere in there along the way..."

Kouga grinned down at her flushed face. Removing one of his gloves, he reached out the bared hand and brushed a stray tendril of hair from her face. "Sorry I got so carried away," he said wryly.

Almost reverently, he ran his hand through the rest of her hair, marvelling at the softness of her red tendrils. Taking one lock between his fingers, he raised it to his lips and kissed it tenderly. Looking deep into her emerald eyes, he whispered, "You're beautiful..."

Ayame's cheeks darkened to the colour of her hair. "T-t-thank you," she stammered, not knowing what else to say. Taking his bare hand between her two gloved ones, she raised it up and kissed his fingertips. "You know, you're not too bad-looking yourself."

"Oh?" he inquired playfully, moving his hand to caress her cheek.

Tilting her head towards his touch, she gave him a hesitant look. "You know, this is really embarrassing to admit, but back when we first met, I thought you looked really, uh, nice–"

"Nice?" Kouga cut in in an amused tone.

"Heh, heh...okay...more like hot, I guess," Ayame mumbled quickly in embarrassment. "Anyways, I kind of...drew a picture of you..."

Kouga looked surprised. "A picture? Of me? Really?"

Ayame was avoiding his eyes like the plague. "Uh huh..." she mumbled again.

Kouga leaned down and pressed his forehead against hers, forcing her to look at him. "Do you think I could see it when we get back...?"

Ayame was shocked to see nothing but gentleness and affection in his gaze. Warily, she asked, "Do you think Sesshoumaru will be dressed again by the time we get back...?"

The thought stopped Kouga for a moment. "Well...we still have to walk all the way down the hill... I'm sure he'll have escaped Rin and found some clothes by then..." he said, not sounding entirely convinced.

"Well then, if that's the case, and let's hope it is, I guess you can see it," Ayame said, the joking tone back in her voice. Pulling back from him, she grabbed his hand and led him towards one of the lit slopes. "But for now, let's go play in the snow!"

Kouga shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled along. "Can't argue with that!"

..:V:..

When Kouga and Ayame returned to the condominium that night, Rin and Seshoumaru were nowhere to be found, presumably having gone back to their hotel. Kagome and Inuyasha were curled up together on the couch watching a last movie together. Further inspection of the place revealed Miroku sound asleep in Sango's bed and Sango herself sleeping propped up against it. The pair decided to leave them in peace and headed to Ayame's room instead.

She briefly showed him her sketch of him and then quickly tried to hide it again. He instead stopped her and asked if he could keep it. She reluctantly agreed and blushed again in embarrassment when he marvelled over her skill. They headed back downstairs and he stashed the sketch away in his jacket before the two of them joined the other couple in the living room.

When the movie ended, the boys decided to head back to their own condominium for the night and promised to meet up with the girls again before they all left for home in the morning. Kouga and Inuyasha opted to leave Miroku at the girls' place overnight in order not to disturb him and the girls solemnly swore not to ravish the boy in his time of vulnerability. On that humourous and slightly uneasy note, they all bid each other good night and headed off to their prospective beds.

The next morning, the girls slept in until nine o'clock. When they finally got up, showered and dressed, they started scrambling around the condo, finishing up any last minute packing.

Miroku was initially surprised to find himself in Sango's bed, but he quickly remembered the events of the night before. The girls treated him to breakfast and he did whatever he could to help them vacate the place.

Around eleven o'clock, they headed outside and started packing their stuff away in Kagome's van. Kouga and Inuyasha came over from their condo, and even Sesshoumaru and Rin had showed up again to see everyone off.

The group's various family members had headed home the previous day and so the kids would be driving home alone. With a few wistful glances back up at the mountain, they decided to start their farewells.

Ayame wrapped an arm around Kouga's neck and wailed into his shoulder. "Oh, Kouga! I can't believe we're parting like this!"

Kouga wrapped an arm around her waist and sucked in a breath as if to hold back tears. "I know...but we have to be strong... We...we can get through this."

"I don't know what to do without you!" Ayame protested, shaking her head violently in anguish. "I don't know if I can go on!"

Kouga raised a noble face to the sky. "You must, my dear sweet Ayame. You mustn't allow the ravages of time to break our precious bond."

Ayame gave a loud sniff. "You have to promise to write. If I cannot at least have your words next to my heart at all times, I will never make it!"

Kouga cupped the back of her head with his free hand. "I vow to you, on all my honour, that I shall. Now, if we must part, let us do it swiftly to save us the greater part of heartbreak."

Ayame nodded tragically as she stepped away.

"So..." Kouga said, dropping the dramatic tone. "See you next week?"

"Yep!" Ayame agreed with completely dry eyes and a bright smile on her face. "Send me an email or drop me a line and we'll sort something out."

"Later!" Kouga said, grinning and waving. Inuyasha and Miroku had driven their cars over to the girls' parking lot and so Kouga went over and hopped into the latter's.

Meanwhile, Sango was lecturing Miroku on how to stay healthy and not tax himself too much. "Your arm is your top priority right now," she admonished him. "Just because I won't be with you twenty-four seven doesn't mean you can be an idiot about it."

Miroku gave her a humourous look. "Yes, Sango dear... I'll try to be a good boy."

"See that you do," she said in a completely serious tone. Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. It caused more than a few thoughts to spring to his mind and when they broke away, a grin full of implications hovered about his mouth. "You better not forget to call me," Sango warned darkly.

"Sango, I don't think I could if I tried," he told her honestly. With another grin, he continued, "I just can't get you out of my head at all."

Rolling her eyes, she gently pushed him away though she was hard-pressed to suppress her own smile. "Good-bye, lover boy," she told him dryly. "See you next week."

"Good-bye, my sweet," he said, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. "Until we meet again, I bid you adieu." With a last shared smile, the two of them parted and headed to their respective vehicles.

Inuyasha and Kagome watched their friends go before turning back to each other. "Well..." Kagome started, not really knowing what to say. "I guess it's time to go..."

"Yeah..." Inuyasha agreed, though neither made a move towards their cars.

"You know, I think this has been the best two weeks of my life," Kagome admitted to him, smiling warmly. "I can't even imagine a time when I've had more fun."

Inuyasha grinned in response. "It's certainly had its moments."

Kagome stepped forward and hugged him tightly. His arms automatically wrapped themselves around her waist. After a moment of silence, Kagome sighed. "I guess I better go..."

As she pulled away, Inuyasha caught sight of a single tear tumbling down her cheek. He lifted a hand to gently brush it away even as he gave her a questioning look. "You know, we _do_ live in the same town. We're bound to run into each other sooner or later," he joked.

Kagome laughed and shook her head. "It's not out of sadness... But I guess it's not exactly joy either. I don't know what it is. I'm really very happy right now...but I'm sad the trip's over. It's like I have to wake up and say good-bye to this fairytale land."

Inuyasha leaned down and took her lips with his. Kissing her softly, he tried to convey a multitude of emotions. "You say goodbye, I say hello," he whispered against her lips. Pulling back and looking down at her with a gentle smile, he continued, "The fairytale's just getting started, Princess. We still have a ways to go. Don't let it end here."

Kagome looked at him in wonder for a moment before letting a smile spread over her own lips. "You're right," she agreed. "This is the just the beginning and it's not going to die so easily!" Hugging him tightly once more, she breathed in his warm presence. After a minute, she asked, "By the way, did you just quote the Beatles?"

"Maybe..."

Kagome laughed as she pulled away. "Just checking. Well, I guess I really _actually_ better be going this time..."

"But it's definitely not the end," Inuyasha asserted.

"Of course not," she agreed. "We have a lot more adventures still to share..."

"More than you or I could count."

"I'll be looking forward to it!" she called as she walked backwards towards her car. "Bye, Inuyasha! See you at home!"

He gave her a half wave. "Bye, Kagome."

After a quick farewell exchange between Sesshoumaru and Rin and the girls, everyone piled into the cars and headed out; back to home and on to even greater adventures...

..:V:..

At a lone table, long forgotten and longer feared, concocting its next devious endeavour, lay the pink thong. It sat waiting, patiently waiting for its next victim to fall prey to its deceptive rhinestoned wiles...

* * *

A/N OMIGOD I'M DONE. AND WE ALL HAVE CAVITIES. RUN FOR THE DENTIST BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!

On another note...THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER READ THIS. It has been such an amazing experience to write this story and I'm so glad you all hung around for the ride. Even though my updates slowed to a snail's pace, I'm glad so many of you stuck by me until the end. You guys are all amazing and I hope this fic was able to brighten your days even just a little bit!

And IF, for some reason this incredibly sappy ending was not enough for you, there IS something else coming along. My dear friend Spacewolf, who has contributed countless ideas to this story, is in the process of writing an unofficial epilogue, which I shall probably post within the story itself.

ALSO keep an eye out for my special surprise to you all - The Deleted Scenes of King of the Hill. All of the hilarious scenes I considered putting in the story but backed out of ultimately. Or just funny scenarios within the story itself. I should have them all typed up soon, so keep an eye out for them on my bio page. I will most likely be posting them as a separate story so as not to tempt fate and get my baby fic deleted in some obscure, nonsensical manner. And by soon, I mean like within the week kind of thing, not another four months. ;)

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO READ AND LOVE IN THE SHADOWS – I shall now joyfully return to it! It has not been forgotten! It has not been abandoned! Now I will once again take it up and bring you down from its cliffhanger of doom... So stick with me! ;)

OKAY MY LOVELY READERS! FOR NOW, I SHALL LET YOU GO...WITH THIS: To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target:)

Happy days, all – bye for now!


	39. Epilogue

A/N (Spacewolf) I want you all to know, this is KOTH fanfiction, albeit KOTH fanfiction that Super Ceech has given her blessings to. I admit the urge to throw in a pointless and gratuitous shower scene was too great for me, so I apologize and ask you all to please bare Sesshoumaru with me!

P.S. (Super Ceech) **The shower scene is rated T just so there are no complaints...but why would there be; it's a gratuitous Sesshoumaru shower scene after all!**

* * *

Sesshoumaru awoke in a hotel room with pristine white sheets tangled up around him. He slowly pushed himself up and looked in the mirror, silken strands of hair gliding down his bare shoulders and arms.

A mirror was placed by the bed (he felt that was of dubious taste) but it allowed for a quick cursory appraisal of his appearance without ever needing to leave bed. And he did so love his appearance... and beds... on second thought that was a brilliant idea.

His long hair hung like strands of silver to fuse in a bundle of white with the sheets folded back around his knees. His eyes were clear, not a hint of the normal just-awoken-confusion most suffered. Resting his hands on his bare knees he squinted at his reflection distastefully.

Exactly three hairs were out of place.

"My hair," he murmured fretfully patting it in dismay. He slid off the bed, departing from the soft silken softness of high-end hotel beds.

He flicked his hair back over his shoulders. Shuffling past a chair in the hotel room, Sesshoumaru frowned at the suit that was laid out with a note from Rin pinned to it. Apparently in the dead of night, she'd gotten into his room, by means as of yet unclear. She'd tiptoed passed where his prone form had lain, unsuspecting, at his most vulnerable. With precision and neatness she'd executed her plan, carrying something in, setting it out, putting it in place and then stealing away as silently as she'd entered.

Again.

Sesshoumaru slipped into the bathroom for a shower.

The steam curled up from the heated rain that fell from the gleaming silver font head, reaching like longing fingers of mist around his thighs. His platinum hued hair, soaked and heavy with the dew of the shower clung to the contours of his athletic body. Hot water caressed his satin skin in way that no woman ever...cough sorry. Where were we again?

With the vague notion of having been spied upon by higher powers, Sesshoumaru ceased the flow of water and wrapped a fleecy white towel around his waist and cinched it firmly. Next he took an even larger fleecy white towel and twisted that around his hair and turned it into a towel turban.

As he exited the bathroom, he held onto the towel around his waist as if he feared a forty year old rabid fan of his ice dancing was going to kick down his door, rush in, glomp him and make off with his towel and his dignity.

But what were the chances of that happening?

...Twice.

...In one week.

Sesshoumaru sat down on the bed and flicked on the television to see if anything good was on.

Translation, to see if anything about him was on.

He found a clip show, devoted currently to showing footage from the Olympics. Having ended only two weeks ago, the world was still jazzed up on the post Winter Olympics Buzz.

Since he'd participated in this Olympics himself, he settled down on the foot of his bed to watch with some interest.

After showing a few highlights, which included a female skier taking down a barricade during her run with her face, and a luge team that had probably managed to cripple themselves, it got down to the good stuff.

"And now, for our favorite Winter Sports Brothers, the moment everyone's been waiting for, the Dareshi clips!" The needlessly tanned and plastic looking male host said with a smile so white and toothy it gave him a deranged appearance.

Sesshoumaru's own face ached at the thought of showing that much expression.

The promised clip shown was of Sesshuomaru and Rin; they had just been awarded the gold and were fighting their way through the crowds of reporters. In his arms, Jaken carried a bundle of something. One of his burdens fell and was trampled, and he fell to his knees beside it.

He screamed something about his chiffon samples.

Clip-Show Sesshoumaru for the ice dancing had been dressed in form fitting periwinkle blue with swirls and sparkles across the chest and down his right leg. A clever bit of tailoring around the waist area saved him from the embarrassment of what he liked to call "ballet crotch." The collar of this outfit was a huge fluffy ruff, tapering to nothing beneath his chin, and growing to obscene proportions behind his head. The cuffs matched the collar, so to speak, with their outrageously large white fluffiness.

His make-up was androgynous and outrageous, along his eye line, starting beneath tear ducts and tracing all the way to his hair line were ruler straight thick blue lines. His lashes were covered in the same sharp blue colour. His lips were also painted a bright blue.

Rin behind him was dressed in a pink complimentary suit which consisted of a needlessly short pink dress with a huge fluffy hem. Wide bell like sleeves with matching fluffy collars and an almost equally outrageous fluffy collar. Though not visible at a stand still, she wore pink short shorts beneath the needlessly short dress, seeing no real need to flash her underwear to the audience.

Unless it was completely necessary of course.

Her make-up was done the same as his, only in pink.

Rin called their outfits Androgyny Chic meets Cyber Punk.

Sesshoumaru called it Too Much Money meets Not Enough Taste.

However, tacky outfits aside, they had won the gold.

"Sesshoumaru!" An annoying, pushy reporter shoved his mike towards Clip-Show Sesshoumaru.

Real-Life Sesshoumaru growled at the memory.

He knew many men and women, good athletes all of them, who had sustained microphone related injuries due to pushy reporters.

"You've competed in two Olympics and taken gold both times!" the Clip-Show Reporter panted, galloping to keep up with Sesshoumaru's determination. "How does that feel?"

"Disappointing," Clip-Show Sesshoumaru replied without glancing at the insignificant reporter. "I was hoping that the Olympics committee would create a fourth, higher medal so that this year might actually be a challenge!"

"Uh..." somehow Clip-Show Reporter hadn't been expecting that answer. Brightly he tried again. "What advice do you have for new up and comers to the sport of Ice Dancing?"

"Remember kids, no matter how good you get, there is always somebody better," Clip-Show Sesshoumaru responded philosophically. After a beat he added, "And that somebody is me! But don't worry, someday I'll be dead and it's not hard to outskate a corpse!"

"That's not necessarily true!" Clip-Show Rin pipped up gleefully. "I bet Sesshoumaru would skate fantastically as a zombie too!"

"Um...?" the Clip-Show Reporter said slowly, confused. "Any other advice?"

Sesshoumaru thought about it and then said profoundly, "Stay in school kids... or you'll end up like my idiot brother!"

This was not the sort of uplifting encouragement that Clip-Show Reporter had expected.

"Well," Clip-Show Reporter asked brightly. "Will you be competing again in four years to take a third Gold?"

"No," Clip-Show Sesshoumaru replied firmly. "I am very disappointed with the Olympics committee. It's not just their persistent failure to present me with a challenge, but the rooms they provide are seriously lacking in satisfactory mini-bars!"

Clip-Show Sesshoumaru stopped suddenly and snatched the reporter's microphone. In a voice that rang with condemnation, as a priest would damn a heathen, in a wronged tone, Sesshoumaru explained his plight to the world. "I wrote to the Olympics committee and informed them of their failure to provide mini-bar satisfaction. I gave them a second chance and to my disappointment my fundamental mini-bar needs were not met! Therefore I will not be returning for a third time. Rin and I will now be turning professional. No challenge, no mini-bar, no Sesshoumaru."

Clip-Show Sesshoumaru handed the microphone back.

"That will be all," he informed them with the regal bearing and conviction of a politician who had just dismissed the press.

"Well!" the Clip-Show Host said with a laugh. "There's a man who's brave enough to wear that outfit and speak his mind!"

Real-Life Sesshoumaru tore his eyes from the television show and glared at the inefficient mini-bar.

"You're a failure," he told it cruelly.

It looked suitably destroyed by his harsh criticism.

Sesshomaru turned back to the clip show.

"And now," the Plastic Looking Clip-Show Host said with needless excitement. "Arguably the best clip of the Olympics, Inuyasha Dareshi!"

Real-Life Sesshoumaru grumbled.

The Clip-Show went to the clip of Inuyasha kicking up a rain of snow at the end of his run.

Normally reporters stayed respectfully back at the end of Olympic runs. They saved the bum rushing until they were a least a bit away from the crowds and judge. Today was no exception; Inuyasha, at the end of his run, immediately made for the reporters who, seeing their chance, eagerly swarmed him. Inuyasha ploughed his way through them, grinning ear to ear until he came to where an attractive young woman in a red coat was hanging respectfully back with her camera man.

"Do you have a comment, Inuyasha?" Clip-Show Kagome asked him, respectfully offering him the microphone.

"Sure I have a comment!" Clip-Show Inuyasha (which was just as ugly as Real-Life Inuyasha) bellowed into the microphone, tearing it from her hands. "Kagome! Will you marry me?"

He produced a ring on a delicate chain from the inside of his sleek racing suit. He tore the chain off his neck and offered it to Kagome.

She stared at him in disbelief.

"O-okay," she stammered shyly.

Inuyasha grabbed her and kissed her squarely on the mouth.

The crowd sheered and the cameras rolled.

Real-Life Sesshoumaru thought that was a slight breech in protocol. Reporters were not supposed to make the news, simply report on it.

Kagome had taken photo journalism in college, planning on being a new photographer, but fate had put her in front of the camera. With sweet good looks and a genuine kindness that was palpable even onscreen, she was the darling of her news station. Normally she only handled the local feel good story:

Local woman turns outhouse into a dung beetle habitat. Teens suspected of vandalism apprehended by citizens. Gratuitously fat cat stuck in a tree, rescued by Olympic candidate Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru personally thought that since it had been Kagome's cat stuck in the tree to begin with, it shouldn't even have made it to the news but what did he know?

What was local story Kagome doing at the Olympics? Well she was the only reporter at her station dating (now engaged to) an Olympic skier, and she was the only reporter who was best friends with another Olympic skier's girlfriend and manager. Ayame had decided to become Kouga's manager, scheduling training times, finding instructors, arranging press conferences and exclusive interviews with Kagome. Last but certainly not least (as far as Sesshoumaru was concerned this was the most important part) Kagome was also the only reporter at her station, and one of the few in the world that could get private interviews with Rin and Sesshomaru, and she was the only reporter in the entire world that Sesshoumaru would be nice to.

Or Rin would hit him.

Of course this wasn't enough to make Kagome world famous, but it was enough to get her to the Olympics as a part of her station's reporting team there.

Maybe now that she was engaged to Inuyasha, she'd become famous.

Thinking of sweet and pretty Kagome with his brother suddenly filled Sesshoumaru with a deep and profound disappointment.

He'd always thought she had better taste.

It occurred to Sesshoumaru that he'd been sitting in naught but a towel and towel turban for a while now. Perhaps it was time to get dressed?

He wandered over to the suit and peered down at the note pinned to it.

_Put on the suit_, it said. _Look pretty and be ready by twelve thirty sharp. _

"Look pretty?" he read. "Well I think that's a given!"

Sesshoumaru checked the time. He had an hour and a half.

Plenty of time to put on the suit and go down for breakfast.

The thought of walking down to the dining room was daunting. It was such a long walk for food. He immediately dismissed the notion of calling room service. He hadn't called room service since the _'Misadventure.'_

That left only the mini bar.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes and stalked over to his hated enemy.

He opened it up and rummaged around.

He pulled out a small glass bottle of chic mineral water.

"What?" Sesshoumaru sneered at the mini bar. "Are you too good for regular water?" The only other liquid was small little bottles of various liquors. He sorted through

them in disgust.

"What is this?" he demanded the mini bar. "Liquor for babies?"

He set those aside and reached into the mini-bar fridge again.

He pulled out a few small package of clodhoppers.

"You've got to be joking," Sesshoumaru growled. "There can't be more than three clodhoppers in this!"

He threw that aside in disgust and reached in again.

This time he pulled out a small Toblerone bar.

"Look at this," he snapped. "Look! It's a third the size of a normal one! I'm a big boy and I want a big Toblerone!"

And that was all there was in the mini bar. Mineral water, liquor, two mini Toblerones and three tiny packages of clodhoppers.

"Failure!" Sesshoumaru declared. He thrust his finger at the mini bar. "You are the reason I'm not returning to the Olympics!"

The mini bar was devastated by his criticism.

Sesshoumaru sat on the bed and sulkingly ate the clodhoppers and Toblerones, washing them down with assorted mini bottles of liquor because he didn't trust mineral water (you mine minerals, not drink them!).

Mm mm!

Breakfast of champions!

Sesshoumaru then set about putting on the suit and making himself look pretty. Of course the pretty part didn't take any effort on his part; nature had done all the work for him already, all he had to do was reap the benefits.

He then grabbed his wallet, his keys, his lucky charm, two coupons for a dollar off sundaes at Dairy Queen, and several other VERY important objects and slipped them into his pockets. All this would make anyone else's pockets very bulky. This was Sesshoumaru however and Sesshoumaru's pockets Do. Not. Bulk!

At twelve–thirty there was a knock at his door. Sesshoumaru went to answer it looking damn snazzy in his tuxedo. At the door, there was Inuyasha and Kouga, or Beevus and Butt-head as Sesshoumaru thought of them. (Inuyasha was both by the way – Sesshoumaru didn't waste his time thinking about Kouga enough to give him a nickname.)

They were dressed in tuxedos as well. Inuyasha wore a pale violet cummerbund and bow-tie. Kouga also wore these accessories, though his were baby blue.

In his tuxedo, with his silver hair carefully tamed to cascade down his back, Inuyasha looked like a fairytale prince. Albeit a fairytale prince who was going to rip his bow-tie and collar if he wasn't careful. He kept tugging at it with a pained expression on his face.

Inuyasha and Kouga had both competed in the Olympics twice like Sesshoumaru. They had each decided to concentrate fully on their specialties – Inuyasha competing in the slalom and Kouga in the GS. The first year, Inuyasha had been fourth and Kouga had been seventh in their respective events. Just this year though, Inuyasha had risen to take the gold and Kouga had taken home a silver. If you asked Kouga, though, he was the real winner since he'd moved up six rankings and Inuyasha had only moved up four.

Sesshoumaru personally thought the calibre of the Olympics had simply gone down, allowing them to place.

"Brother, is something wrong?" he asked Inuyasha. "Your collar got too starched?"

"It's choking me!" he said in growing panic.

Kouga kept checking and re-checking his ponytail.

"It still feels weird to me," he whined. His ponytail was lower than normal. So rather than looking like an extremely buff teeny-bopper, he looked rather suave. He looked sophisticated and worldly, the kind of man you'd see drinking expensive wines, or touring museums. In reality, Sesshoumaru doubted Kouga could even spell museum.

"Come on, we've got to go," Inuyasha barked at Sesshomaru. "If we're late, Kagome will kill me. Then Sango will kill me. Then Ayame will kill me. Then Rin will kill me."

"Late?" Sesshoumaru almost-frowned.

"You didn't forget, did you?" Kouga demanded him in horror.

"No," Sesshoumaru lied. "Of course not."

He wasn't too concerned. If it hadn't meant enough to remember, it probably wasn't too important.

"You're not wearing your cummerbund!" Kouga accused, wide-eyed with horror. "Or your bow-tie!"

Sesshoumaru glanced back to where they lay on the bench.

"They're pink," was all he said.

"But you have to wear them," Inuyasha fretted. "You have to or the tux... I dunno it'll fall apart or something."

"Fall apart?" Sesshoumaru asked skeptically.

Kouga nodded emphatically.

"I asked Ayame what cummerbunds were for," he assured Sesshomaru. "She said that the cummerbund is like the pin in a sniper rifle, it just holds the whole thing together."

Sniper rifles?

"Really?" Sesshoumaru wondered, looking back at the cummerbund and bow-tie.

"Kagome told me if I don't wear my cummerbund, my pants'll fall down," Inuyasha piped up.

"And you believe these women?" Sesshoumaru drawled.

"Why would they lie about that?" Kouga asked. "It's just too pointless not to be important, you know?"

He made an excellent argument.

Sesshoumaru sighed heavily but put on the cummerbund and bow-tie, growling at their pinkness. He tried to comfort himself by thinking of them as sniper rifle pins.

"C'mon," Inuyasha growled. "Oh, for god's sake."

He undid his bow and unbuttoned his collar.

Now he was a sexy fairytale prince.

The three of them hurried along, and by hurried, Sesshomaru walked at a languid pace which drove Inuyasha and Kouga crazy because they were under the impression they should be running around like a bunch of ninnies.

Outside there was a small cluster of paparazzi. Beyond them was Ayame leaning against her 'baby.' It was a jaguar as red as her hair.

She wore a formal dress. She wore a simple sheath of blue silk it looked like. Over that she wore a sheer white fabric as the outer dress. The outer dress had greater volume and floated delicately.

All in all, it looked like a delicate white dress frosted with just a pinch of blue. On Ayame with her red hair it looked like fire and ice.

Ayame had somehow become rather classy.

That girl Sesshoumaru had met six years ago had grown into a confident sports manager with good taste and a good head for business. She was the kind of woman who deserved a sophisticated man. Such a pity she liked Kouga.

Still, Sesshoumaru respected her business savvy if not her choice in boyfriends or friends (Inuyasha).

"Inuyaha, fix your bow, c'mon," Ayame commanded, ducking into the driver's seat of her 'baby.'

Kouga slipped into the passenger's seat beside her. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru sat in the back.

Sesshoumaru was relieved someone else was driving. It would give him more time to try and remember where they were going.

Everyone seemed nervous, Sesshoumaru alone was a pillar of calm.

"Stop playing with it, Kouga," Ayame said tersely, never taking her eyes off the road.

"But it feels weird," Kouga whined.

"If you play with it, it'll fall off, I meant out, I mean you'll break it... you know what I mean."

"But it's mine," Kouga pointed out. "I should be able to do whatever I want with it."

"Kouga," Ayame said briskly. "As your agent, I'm commanding you to stop playing with your hair. As your girlfriend, I remind you that your hair and everything else belongs to me. If you pull out your ponytail, I'll clock you."

"Can't I put it just a bit higher?" Kouga asked tentatively. "I mean, just a bit?"

"No," Ayame insisted.

"Inuyasha's not fixing his bow," Kouga pouted.

Ayame looked up in the rearview mirror.

"Inuyasha, fix your tie," she commanded in annoyance. "For goodness sakes, it's only one day. You guys can play dress up for one day!"

Sesshoumaru watched this entire procession with only vague disinterest. He was wondering if he should get a manicure. Just a nail trim and a polish. Nothing FABulous.

"Sesshoumaru isn't complaining," Ayame finally burst out in annoyance.

"Sesshoumaru is used to Rin picking his clothes," Inuyasha muttered sullenly. He fastened his collar but couldn't figure out how to use the bow-tie. He left it untied around his neck and pouted. "Sesshoumaru would just go naked if Rin didn't dress him!"

Sesshoumaru would have objected to this, except it wasn't entirely untrue.

But it had only been the once, and he'd simply been too lazy to do his laundry, when left with the choice of dirty underwear or nudity, Sesshoumaru had selected nudity. It seemed like the right thing to do for him.

Then Rin had stopped by and after her screaming stopped, she'd immediately left to buy him new clothes. They'd had dinner arrangements that night and the restaurant, a fancy french place, had a strict dress code.

Sesshoumaru had been game for seeing if he could still get in, but Rin had informed him that that was one experiment that was never going to be conducted.

They pulled up in front of a large old looking building. Lots of dressed up people were hurrying inside. A white limousine was parked right in front of old stone steps.

Sesshoumaru wondered who'd ridden in that.

He gradually realized that this old building was a church. Everyone who was dressed up must be hurrying inside for the service or mass or happy-fun-prayer-time, or whatever it was called.

"Come on," Ayame urged. "We need to get inside or Rin'll freak. She's organizing this whole thing herself."

Sesshoumaru was dismayed; had Rin discovered religion?

He hoped she wasn't going to get born again, or something like that. Was he going to have to start speaking in tongues?

"Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha called, he broke away from them and ran up.

Sure enough Kagome, dressed in a white gown very similar to Ayame's only Kagome's tinted lavender instead of blue, met Inuyasha with a resigned expression on her face. She carried several bouquets of flowers in her arms.

Before Sesshoumaru, Kouga, and Ayame could catch up with them, Kagome began wildly waving Inuyasha away.

She clearly wanted him to leave her alone.

Sesshoumaru instantly liked the girl better and his opinion of her intelligence rose another 2.74 notches.

Sango jogged up from the parking lot, she wore a white light blue frosted dress like Ayame. Only Sango held her's up high around her ankles, revealing the black pedal pusher pants she wore beneath the skirt.

"Inuyasha!" Sango hissed. She made a frantic motion for Inuyasha to leave Kagome alone.

Sesshoumaru instantly liked her better too.

Sango and Kagome said some things to Inuyasha too low for Sesshoumaru to hear.

"Um, let's hold up for a second," Ayame decided, pulling Sesshoumaru to a stop before he was able to make his way to Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru allowed himself to be pulled to a stop.

Sango and Kagome shooed Inuyasha away, gesticulating wildly.

"...not supposed to see!" Sango snapped in annoyance.

"Fine, fine," Inuyasha growled.

"Inuyasha, stop harassing my Sango," Miroku scolded. He walked up in a black tuxedo with a baby blue cummerbund.

Miroku caught his friend by the arm and dragged him along.

"Let's all go inside and find a mirror so Inuyasha can fix his tie," Miroku called out cheerfully. "Ayame, I think the girls need you."

"Yes," Ayame agreed with a faint exhalation of breath she'd been holding. "Yes, I'm sure they do!"

"You've got everything in hand?" she asked Miroku.

"We've got it under control," Miroku promised.

Ayame hurried off to join Kagome and Sango.

Miroku led Inuyasha, Kouga and Sesshoumaru inside.

Sesshoumaru was a little surprised to see all of Inuyasha's friends here. Had they all discovered religion or something?

Miroku hurried them to a small little room. They entered one door, but there was a second door on the other side of the room. There was a mirror hanging up.

Miroku immediately ushered Inuyasha to the mirror and ordered him to tie his bow-tie. Miroku had to talk him through the process since it seemed Inuyasha had no idea how to tie his bow-tie, and Miroku refused to tie it for him.

It made sense that Miroku knew how to tie a bow-tie to Sesshoumaru. After all, Miroku, after years in school was almost an astrophysicist. Since it was such an intellectually demanding job that required vast knowledge, it only made sense that he would need to tie bow-ties.

You can't study the universe unless you can tie a bow-tie.

It was a fact.

He and Sango were of course going as sickeningly strong as the others. Sango had become a psychologist, or a psychiatrist; one of those people who dealt with crazies. Sesshoumaru just called them shrinks to avoid correction. Truth be told, he found Sango and Miroku to be rather boring professionally. All they did were intelligent things, nothing exciting like ice dancing or skiing.

Sesshoumaru got bored so he opened the second door and poked his head out. He was surprised to see the actual church part of the temple. People were quickly filling up the pews.

An older man, clearly the priest by his garb, walked into the room from the first door.

"Are we ready, boys?" he asked kindly.

They all shared a look amongst themselves and nodded.

"Then proceed," the priest urged.

They filed out. They arranged themselves close to the altar, anxious.

Miroku asked something casually about a ring.

This caused an instant excited reaction in Inuyasha and Kouga. Inuyasha began dancing in place and grew increasingly frantic.

Someone was really going to have to explain to him that Lord of the Rings was not actually a documentary and that Hobbits weren't actually a religious minority.

Sesshoumaru smiled faintly at the memory.

Some of his fondest memories of his childhood was reading his little brother the classics, and lying to him.

_Yes Inuyasha, as long as you believe and think happy thoughts, you can fly. For fairy dust, just substitute glitter! Now leap off the back shed and fly!_

_Hey Inuyasha, why don't you go wait in that wardrobe until Narnia finds you?_

_Elves used to be real Inuyasha, but due to deforestation, they lost their homes and their culture succumbed to external pressures and elves have since either died or have interbred so far with the rest of the population you can't tell they're elves._

_Go ahead, stick a fork in the electrical socket. It won't hurt a bit!_

He'd actually gotten grounded for that.

How was he supposed to know the one time Inuyasha listened to him, it would be that?

A boring but familiar song – it was a probably a hymn or something – began. It felt a bit like a lullaby.

Sesshoumaru smothered a yawn and closed his eyes. He'd just have a nice little standing up nap. He'd mastered this technique years ago. It was wickedly useful to avoid boringly long ceremonies.

Like weddings.

Funerals.

Graduations.

Olympic ceremonies.

Sesshomaru felt someone step up beside him. He was none too gently turned around. He cracked one eye open.

"What are you doing?" Rin hissed at him.

"I'm doing my ceremony sleeping thing," he answered calmly. "Give me the highlights later."

He closed his eyes again.

Rin dug her sharp elbow into his side.

"Ow Rin!" he scolded.

"I can't believe you," she growled, shaking her head at him.

"What's the problem?" he sighed.

He sensed the priest was trying to smile genially was wanted them to shut up.

"I sleep through everything," he reminded her.

Rin glared at him heatedly.

"I'm not letting you sleep through our wedding!"

"Say what?" Sesshomaru demanded her. "Our what now?"

Rin flinched like he'd struck her.

The people in the pews shifted.

"Is something wrong, my children?" the priest asked with a tight smile.

"Yeah, not now pal," Sesshomaru replied, waving him silent. He focused on Rin. "Wedding? What?"

Huge salty tears filled her large eyes.

"You forgot, didn't you?" she sobbed, dropping her bouquet. She started to cry. Kagome, Ayame and Sango hurried forward in their almost matching dresses to comfort her. "I know you're hopeless about remembering things, but I was certain you'd at least care enough to remember this!"

Sesshoumaru sensed everyone was glaring at him.

"I might forget birthdays, anniversaries, Inuyasha's middle name and Jaken's existence," Sesshoumaru began in his defence. "But I'm pretty sure even I would remember my own wedding!"

Rin sobbed and hiccuped, she looked up at him from between her hands.

"Furthermore," Sesshoumaru was on a roll now. "Since when are we engaged? I'm pretty sure there's a ring involved or something."

Rin looked a bit hesitant now. She held up her left hand.

On her left thumb she wore Sesshoumaru's college ring. She'd always liked it.

"Didn't I lose that to you in a game strip poker?" he demanded.

Rin nodded.

"And wasn't it that or my underwear?" he added.

She nodded again.

"That was two years ago," he reminded her.

Rin nodded. She began playing with the ring, twisting it around her thumb. It was too big for any of her other fingers.

"I decided to take it as my engagement ring," she admitted.

Sesshoumaru frowned, he wasn't sure that was actually allowed.

"We weren't even dating," he remarked, his memory of the past few years returning to him.

"Yes we were," Rin insisted. "Remember all those fancy restaurants we went too?"

He did indeed.

Rin had made all those reservations, just picking out what he should wear and telling him when to pick her up.

"I thought you just like french cuisine," he admitted.

"I kissed you," Rin sounded like she was about to cry again.

"You only did that to gain the upper hand in situations and torment me," he scolded.

Rin nodded, admitting to that fact.

"So how long have we been a couple?" Sesshoumaru had to ask.

"About a year after we started ice dancing together," Rin informed him.

"When exactly was I going to be informed of this?" he wondered.

Rin winced and looked sheepish.

"I wanted to see how long it took you to clue in," she confessed. "It was like a bet with myself... I...I... well I guess I'm so used to organizing everything, with help from Jaken, and I guess in all the chaos and confusion of our second Olympic appearance and organizing the wedding before all our friends had to start training again I guess I just... forgot to tell you."

Sesshoumaru looked around. Now that he understood, he finally knew why Ayame and Sango were wearing identical blue frosted dresses. They were bridesmaids. Kagome's style of dress was the same except for the colour, her's was violet frosted, she was the maid of honour.

Kouga and Miroku with baby blue cummerbunds and bow ties were grooms men. Inuyasha with his violet cummerbund and bow-tie was the best man.

Sesshoumaru finally looked at Rin's dress.

It was a full skirted and delicate wedding dress. It had a few ribbons and bows, but nothing obnoxiously frou-frou. It was tinged pink to match Sesshoumaru's own cummerbund and bow-tie.

"I... I'm sorry," Rin murmured, ducking her head and swallowing hard. "I think I got so wrapped up in my own game of not telling you anything outright that I just forgot that you don't know."

Rin did seem to take perverse delight in making his decisions for him.

"I'm just really sorry," she said in a breaking voice. "If you w-want you c-can ju-just... just go."

Sesshoumaru sighed heavily.

This was all far too much drama for his taste. He slid his hands into his pockets.

"I'm up, I'm dressed, Brother's in a bow-tie," he murmured taking stock of the situation. He gave a casual shrug. "Ah hell, let's do it."

"What?" Rin gasped, looking up at him.

"Well, everyone's here," Sesshoumaru pointed out, waving an unenthusiastic hand at the pews. "The preachy man's probably already been paid. We've rented the space." He shrugged again. "You've got the honeymoon all figured out, I assume?"

"Niagra falls first," Rin began. "Canadian side of course. After that we're going to fly to..."

"Do I have to do any thinking?" Sesshoumaru interrupted. "For any of this?"

He waved a hand at the general wedding atmosphere.

"None," Rin replied.

"Perfect," he nodded his approval.

Crisply he snapped his fingers.

"Jaken," he barked. "Bouquet."

Jake shot out of nowhere to scoop up Rin's fallen bouquet. He gave her a new and undropped one and then vanished back to where he'd come from. Sesshoumaru turned to the priest.

"Preach on, preachy man," he urged with hand wave.

There was a tense minute of silence.

It annoyed Sesshoumaru.

"Look I had to use my mini-bar to be here on time," he snapped. "You'd better believe I didn't do that for nothing!"

And so the ceremony progressed. Choppy at first, but then with progressing smoothness as everyone settled back into the comfortable wedding swing of things.

..:V:..

It was during the wedding feast that Sesshoumaru finally remembered something important.

He elbowed Rin to get her attention.

"I was going to take you to Dairy Queen," he began. "I have coupons. But since we're in the wedding mood. Here."

He pulled a small box out of his pocket (this was the VERY important item). He opened it with one hand to show her the glittering engagement ring within.

Rin stared at it wordlessly.

"You were going to ask me..." she stammered with trembling lips.

"I was going to wait until we were professional and actually had money," Sesshoumaru admitted. "But you've gone to all this trouble and all..."

With shining eyes, Rin grabbed Sesshoumaru and dragged him into a cheer-rousing kiss.

..:V:..

"Oh for the love of!"

Sango leapt up from her table. She wasn't complaining at the kissing that Sesshoumaru and Rin were doing and had been doing for the last few minutes. It was actually cute, if you tried not to think about it being Sesshoumaru.

Rather she was annoyed because her cell-phone had begun ringing again. It was the fourteenth time it had gone off that day. She'd been ignoring it all along because it was one of her patients, but this was getting ridiculous. She was never going to get a chance to enjoy her time off unless she could get him to leave her alone.

She found a quiet corner outside the dining room to take the call.

"Yes, hello?" her voice was harried with frustration.

"Dr. Sango?" her patient sobbed. (She encouraged a lack of informality with her patients as many were afraid and intimidated by authority figures.)

"Yes I'm here," Sango sighed.

"I called before, why didn't you answer?" he sounded betrayed.

"I told you, I'm out of town at a wedding," she reminded him kindly. She softened her voice. Yelling at him would only aggravate the situation.

"Some people were mean to me at work today!" her patient wailed suddenly. "And I know _He_ put them up to it! Then I saw a police car on my way home from work so I tried those breathing exercises you told me to do but that didn't work." He broke off and sobbed helplessly here. "And then there was this horrible display in the window of La Senza on my way home and all the memories came flooding back. When I got home my answering machine said I had a message, but I didn't. Someone just called and hung up. It was _Him_ again. I know it was Him." He cried a bit. "When are you coming home, Dr. Sango? If you're not here _He'll_ get me, I know! _He's_ watching me! _He's_ always watching me."

Sango pinched the bridge of her nose. This was a full blown headache she couldn't deal with it. She wished for the umpteenth time that she was a psychiatrist rather than a psychologist so she could prescribe him some drugs. She resolved that she'd get him put on some sort of medication as soon as possible.

"Are you coming home soon?" he whimpered. "I just really need someone to talk to."

"Just be strong a little while longer," she urged him gently. "I know you can be. I promise, I'll be back Monday, Naraku."

* * *

A/N (Super Ceech) And there you have it! Thank you so much for writing this, Spacey, and thank you so much for reading King of the Hill, everyone! Now we can all say a final farewell (I hope this gave you any form of closure you may have been somehow lacking). Au revoir everyone – see you in In the Shadows and any other one-shots I may happen to write! 


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